Trajectory of Voice Rehabilitation in Ortner’s Syndrome: A Case Report

Abstract

Ortner’s syndrome is characterized with hoarseness of voice due to left recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and is primarily caused by cardiovascular disease. Based on the concurrent impairment of both the heart and voice, it is also described as Cardio-Vocal syndrome. Hoarseness and breathiness, are the core voice features of Ortner’s syndrome, occurring in children and adults alike. Formal and customized vocal rehabilitation using symptomatic voice therapy approach can elicit remarkable voice improvement in such cases. In this case study, a 28 years old female with such cardiac pathology and voice symptoms is documented. Vocal rehabilitation was initiated, after medical intervention. Normal voice characteristic was achieved within nine sessions of voice therapy as evident in pre and post therapy comparison of acoustic and perceptual parameters. This finding is imperative to the narratives of such rare cases, as it emphasizes on the early intervention. The results suggest that management plays a vital role in restoration of vocal characteristics in cases where otherwise there could have been a permanent damage. There are a few literatures on the voice profile of persons with Ortner’s syndrome however, no study, to the best of our exhaustive search, has been reported on vocal rehabilitation profile on Ortner’s syndrome. The present study explores the trajectory of voice recovery in Ortner’s syndrome.