Acoustic Changes in Chinese Patients With Cancer-Related Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis After Medialization Thyroplasty

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The present study investigated the change in the voice quality of patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) of benign and malignant causes after medialization thyroplasty. Thirty-four native Cantonese adults who had been diagnosed with UVFP participated in the study. Acoustical parameters including the average voice fundamental frequency, percent jitter, relative average perturbation (RAP), percent shimmer, and noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR) were measured from the sustained vowel /a/ that was recorded before and after the thyroplasty procedure. Maximum phonation time (MPT) was also obtained. Results indicated that, for both benign and malignant I Acoustic Changes in Chinese Patients With Cancer-Related Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis After Medialization Thyroplasty