Unsedated Office-Based Thulium Laser Therapy in Patients With Reinke's Edema

Abstract

To report the outcome of unsedated office based Thulium laser therapy for Reinke's edema. A retrospective chart review of patients operated between March 2017 and November 2018 was conducted. Twelve patients were included, two of whom had two procedures performed. Demographic data included age, gender, smoking status, and grade of Reinke's edema. Outcome measures included Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI), perceptual evaluation, extent of disease regression, acoustic analysis, and maximal phonation time. Twelve patients were enrolled in this study, one of whom was lost for follow-up. There were eight females and three males. The mean age was 51.27 ± 9.12 years. Endoscopic evaluation 6-12 weeks after surgery revealed complete and partial regression of disease in three and eight patients, respectively. There was a significant improvement in the mean score of VHI-10 (15.00 ± 9.45 vs 3.07 ± 3.81) and the mean score of GRABS parameters following surgery (P < 0.05). The mean habitual pitch increased from 125.11 ± 28.48 Hz to 155.86 ± 55.14 Hz (P=0.070). There was improvement in the mean jitter and shimmer but none reached a statistical significance. There was no significant change in the mean Maximum phonation time (MPT) scores before and after surgery. Unsedated office-based Thulium laser therapy can be considered as an alternative therapy to patients with Reinke's edema who are not willing to undergo conventional microlaryngeal surgery.