Postoperative objective and subjective voice analysis in patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy and carotid body tumor resection

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to compare voice changes after Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and Glomus body tumor resection with objective instrumental and acoustic assessments. Material and Methods: A total of 14 patients underwent CEA or glomus carotid tumor resection at our institution between 2009 and 2013. Among the 14 patients, two patients were excluded due to vocal cord paralysis. This study was applied to 12 patients. Patients were called retrospectively, and objective and subjective voice parameters were measured and compared. Voice handicap index was used to measure subjective voice parameters. Objective voice analysis was performed for patients by using Multi-dimensional voice programming (MDVP), a computer-aided program. Results: A total of 12 patients were included in the study. Five patients underwent carotid endarterectomy. Glomus tumor resection was performed on seven patients. Of the patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy, four were male and one was female. Three of the patients who underwent glomus tumor resection were male and four were female. Voice handicap index (VHI) showed that two patients who underwent glomus tumor resection experienced moderate problems and the patients who underwent CEA had no obvious problems. Patients who underwent glomus carotid tumor resection obtained higher values in all MDVP parameters than those who underwent CEA. Conclusion: Despite the small number of patients, it can be said that glomus tumor resection in neck surgery, that is, tumor surgery, causes more voice changes than carotid endarterectomy operations. The elevated objective sound parameters found in this study necessitate that patients should be informed regarding the potential of developing postoperative dysphonia, especially those who rely on their voice as their profession (e.g. sound artists, teachers, politicians).