Voice Feminization Surgery

What Does Voice Feminization Surgery Mean ?

Amongst the many gender affirmation surgeries ,  voice feminization surgery is one which is done to make the voice more feminine. It is done to raise the pitch of voice which is followed by speech therapy that focuses on voice resonance as well as voice quality . Females have a pitch  that is 145 Hz octave A3 to C4and above whereas males have a lower pitch and octave.

This surgery is aimed at increaisng vocal cord tension , reducing vocal cord mass or shortenning of vocal cords that alters the pitch .Pitch is the only correctable component by surgery which can be done externally or completely endoscopically .

              Before                                               After

How Is The Patient Prepared ?

Step 1 :

Voice therapy is usually preferred before the surgery and patient is assessed by speech language pathologist who works on

Vocal cord exercises : these means exercises that causes expansion and contraction of the muscles in vocal cord ,several times a day, which increases the strength of the muscles that aims at improving the post op recovery

Step 2:

Maintaing vocal hygiene : This involves complete cessation of smoking before surgery and maintaining good hydration , avoidance of alcoholic and carbonated beverages .This is also continued postoperatively to speeden the recovery.

How Is The Procedure Done ?

The procedure is done under general anesthesia with patient in supine (head facing up) and neck in an extended position . 

If the procedure is done endoscopically , a thin tube known as laryngoscope is inserted into the mouth , and the surgery is done camera-aided with no scar or incision done externally .

If the procedure is done externally ., an incision is made externally on the neck( usually a horizontal incision along the neck crease ).

The advantage of endocopic procudures are that they are less invasive and have a shorter recovery time.

WHAT ARE THE APPROACHES TO VOCAL FEMINIZATION SURGERY ? 

There the many surgeries to vocal feminization , the commonly performed are,

GLOTTOPLASTY : This involves removing several layers of vocal cord and also shortening them with several stitches to reduce the overall length of the voice box . This is the most commonly done surgery

LASER REDUCTION GLOTTTOPLASTY : This is done by destroying the outermost tissues of the vocal cord by means of the energy of a laser , hence known as laser assisted voice adjustement advantage being , lesser collateral tissue damage and bloodless.

FEMINIZATION LARYNGOPLASTY : This is done by removing a part  of the thyroid cartilage and that  vocal cord is shortened

Amongst these, one of the procedure is done based on which is best suited for the patient.

HOW LONG IS THE PROCUDURE ?

The procedure typically takes anywhere between one to three hours .The variation in time is because of the different subtle variations in technique that might be there from patient to patient which, at here, is backed up with our good anesthetic team and intensive care facilities.

HOW IS THE POST OP RECOVERY ?

It is adviced that patient does not speak for 48 to 72 hours after surgery to promote quick healing and to promote a good surgical outcome. Post surgery, patients may be on liquid non spicy diet for several days and would are adviced to avoid smoking , caffeine , carbonated drinks for several months after surgery.

Patient is always followed up with post op speech rehabiliation whereby the Speech language pathologist works with the patient to improve the other aspects like voice resonance , voice quality etc.

Patient may be adviced to be inpatient care for a few days ( subjective ) and discharged depending upon the recovery .

RISKS VS BENEFITS ?

A good surgical outcome is when the pitch of the voice is raised . However this may take several weeks for the surgically  induced synechiae to form which will be aided by vocal exercises taught by the speech therapist. Hence it is always adviced to work with your speech therapist prior to surgery to know what can be expected for every individual and how much of a succesful transition can be expected for you.

The risks may involve

 A voice that is strained ,which may be little of high pitch which sounds unpleasent , hoarse( for few days)

 However , good surgical outcome is easily achieved with diligent follow up care , and over a few weeks the desirable results can be achieved permanently .

To know your individual outcome and risks involved , please consult our team in person .

ABOUT RICHARDSONS FACE HOSPITALS

 At RICHARDSONS FACE HOSPITALS , we have the state-of- art facilities and  we have the best panel of doctors including ENT Surgeon , Speech Therapists, Anesthesia team whereby we provide completely scarless , endoscopic procedure with early recovery and desireable results.