Vocal cord leukoplakia

Vocal cords are the basis for people to make sounds. For professions such as teachers and announcers, speaking is a necessary requirement for their work. In daily life, those occupations that rely on voice for a living often cause serious damage to the vocal cords. Once the vocal cords are damaged, it becomes very difficult to make a sound. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the vocal cords through some methods. What we are going to understand today is what is vocal cord leukoplakia?

Vocal cord leukoplakia is a white plaque disease caused by keratinization, hyperkeratosis and hyperkeratosis of the vocal cord mucosal epithelium. It is relatively common, more common in adult males, and is related to factors such as smoking, alcoholism, chronic laryngeal inflammation and vitamin A and B deficiency. It is often considered a precancerous lesion and is associated with the development of laryngeal cancer. However, vocal cord leukoplakia develops slowly and may not turn into cancer until several years or even more than ten years later. Therefore, after discovering vocal cord leukoplakia, you should neither take it lightly nor panic, as vocal cord leukoplakia can be cured.

Clinical manifestations

The main symptom is hoarseness, which worsens as the disease progresses. Laryngoscopy revealed white plaques or patchy lesions on the surface of the vocal cords or their edges, which were mostly single and about a few millimeters in size. Mild lesions have a soft texture, clear boundaries and are slightly higher than the mucosal surface. In severe cases, it appears wart-like or granular. Those with erosion should be alert to malignant transformation. Vocal cord movement was normal. If cancer occurs, the movement of the vocal cords may be restricted.

diagnosis

The diagnosis is generally not difficult based on symptoms and local examination. If the vocal cords cannot be clearly seen, a fiberoptic vocal cord endoscope or electronic laryngoscope examination can be performed. When diagnosing vocal cord leukoplakia, it is important to differentiate it from vocal cord cysts, sticky secretions attached to the vocal cords due to laryngitis, and vocal cord cancer. The diagnosis still depends on pathological examination.

treat

1. First of all, you must quit smoking and drinking. Vocal cord leukoplakia, like laryngeal cancer, mainly occurs in adult males, and the main cause is related to the stimulation of tobacco and alcohol. Therefore, after discovering leukoplakia on the vocal cords, the first thing to do is to quit smoking and drinking, and eat less irritating food. In addition, the occurrence of white spots is related to the decline of human immunity. Therefore, after discovering white spots on the vocal cords, you should live a regular life, combine work and rest, avoid staying up late and overwork; pay attention to exercise and strengthen your physical fitness.

2. Vocal cord leukoplakia surgery. Vocal cord leukoplakia is a precancerous lesion and there is no specific drug treatment. Therefore, once diagnosed, clinical practice should use surgical methods to remove the vocal cord leukoplakia. Microsurgery under laryngoscopy can be selected. If the vocal cord leukoplakia has become malignant, laser removal can be performed via the intralaryngeal approach.