Combination of fascia transplantation and fat injection into the vocal fold for sulcus vocalis: long-term results.

Abstract

Fat injection and fascia transplantation alone have been used to treat patients with sulcus vocalis. No information is available on the effectiveness of these two procedures used in concert to treat sulcus vocalis. The objectives of this study were to conduct the two procedures together and report the long-term results. This article assesses, retrospectively, the effectiveness of the combination treatment of fascia transplantation and fat injection (FTFI) in patients with sulcus vocalis (n = 22). Perceptual acoustic, phonatory function, and videolaryngostroboscopic data were evaluated before and after FTFI treatment in 18 patients. The mean follow-up time was 16.6 months. Sixteen patients had excellent results, 3 reported improvement, and 3 indicated no change. Phonatory function improved significantly in terms of phonation time, grade, roughness (p < .05), and breathiness (p < .001). The videolaryngostroboscopic rating showed significant improvement in vocal fold vibration amplitude and excursion of the mucosal wave (p < .05). Type 3 sulcus responded better to this treatment than did type 2 (sulcus vergeture). No postoperative complications were noted. The FTFI technique consists of an autogenous implant and delivers positive results. It may be considered as an option for patients with sulcus vocalis. It has been demonstrated to achieve excellent results in a majority of patients and to deliver a better prognosis than fat injection alone. Although resorption of fat and fascia is associated with FTFI, the FTFI procedure may be repeated multiple times.