Prevalence of Minor Larynx Structural Alterations: Influence on the Concept of a Normal Vocal Fold:

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of minor structural alterations (MSA) in the vocal fold cover in a population submitted to extralaryngeal site surgery and to characterize them according to morphological and epidemiological parameters.Study DesignThis was a cross-sectional and observational study.SettingTertiary referral medical center.Subjects and MethodsA total of 147 patients underwent general anesthesia for extralaryngeal site surgery indicated for a procedure extraneous to the study and irrespective of the presence of vocal complaint. Next, detection and morphological characterization of MSAs in the vocal fold cover were performed by means of suspension microlaryngoscopy with laryngeal inspection and palpation without surgical intervention related to this procedure. The laryngeal findings were compared with variables from a clinical and demographic characteristics questionnaire given to these individuals.ResultsA 21.1% prevalence of MSAs was identified in the sample, which included a majority of ...