TORONTO-While state-of-the-art care is appealing, standard care is often an equally effective choice for treatment of laryngological disorders. This was one of the key messages from a panel discussion on state-of-the-art versus standard care here at the meeting of the Eastern Section of the Triological Society.
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June 2006The session was moderated by Peak Woo, MD, Professor of Otolaryngology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY. He presented four cases that may be seen in a typical practice.
Assessing Immobile Vocal Cords
The first was of an 18-year-old female who had undergone total thyroidectomy for Graves disease and who had an immobile vocal fold and a primary complaint of voice problems. Diagnostic options include waiting to see what happens because the nerve appears to be intact, getting a laryngeal electromyography (EMG) performed, or referring the patient for voice therapy.