Vocal cord surgery

Hello everyone. 😢 I am feeling incredibly anxious right now. My mother is scheduled for surgery to remove some polip on her vocal cords in about three weeks. Naturally, they told her it must be done under general anesthesia, which requires several preliminary tests first. To start with... does anyone know what this procedure is actually like and what the specific risks are? Her biggest fear is the general anesthesia itself; she’s never undergone it before, nor has she ever had surgery—though I have, and it was quite difficult for both me and my grandmother to wake up afterward. It didn't help that while filling out the medical history questionnaire regarding chronic illnesses, smoking habits, and lifestyle, she read through all the listed risks, including death as a potential complication. Honestly, I am terrified alongside her. We are both spiraling, worrying whether she will simply wake up or if something will go wrong. It is overwhelming. Does anyone have access to statistics? Specifically, what are the mortality rates associated with general anesthesia in cases like this? Please, 😢 Because of this intense fear, she would rather skip the surgery entirely to avoid the risk, but I know it is necessary. She hasn't had any major health issues until now; she used to smoke, but she quit a month ago, and she is in her forties. So, I am looking for statistics and any insight into how the procedure works, as well as how anxiety might affect anesthesia. If anyone has personal experiences to share... Heeelp! Thank you so much. 🙄

Give me a break...

Personally, I don't know anything about fatalities 😁

There’s nothing to worry about. Most polyp surgeries are performed on people who rely on their voices for work—think executives or singers...

The old man operated on me; I just spent my recovery in a room with a stuffed bunny 😁 🤣

Like you said, they're heading in for the procedure regardless; fear and panic aren't going to help anyone. It'll be fine 🙂

I appreciate the sympathy..😍 How does it look from your perspective, and what’s Dad saying? Any idea how long this will last?

🙂 Anyone here?😢

Honestly, you guys are overreacting way more than I am 🤣

I haven't personally known anyone who didn't wake up from anesthesia. I mean, I know one person who woke up right in the middle of surgery, which was pretty 😲 awful 😬

As for me, after a four-and-a-half-hour surgery, they "barely" got me out of general anesthesia either—meaning I stayed in a semi-conscious haze for hours and just refused to talk to anyone 🤣 But hey, here I am, alive and well, lurking on the forums 🙏

And regarding the risks? You could pick up any bottle of aspirin and start reading the fine print, and you'd end up reading enough scary stuff to last a lifetime 😁

My mom actually had her polip removed a few years back, and honestly, it wasn't a big deal at all 🙂

Thanks, truly 🙂 I’d certainly ask a beautiful woman for help... do you happen to know what that procedure actually looks like? 🙂

No... what does that actually look like? 🙂 Haaaaaa??

So, my boyfriend had surgery to get a vocal cord polip removed about two weeks ago. Everything seemed totally fine right after the procedure—he wasn't feeling anything out of the ordinary, no issues at all. But lately, he’s started getting this weird irritation in his throat, and it’s actually making him cough whenever he takes a breath. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone knows if that's actually normal or if we should be worried?

My uncle actually went through something similar, and he had this polip that was just massive—it felt like it was stealing his breath, honestly, like he could have choked at any second... and even after the surgery, he still finds himself coughing quite a bit because it was such a sudden, jarring change in how he breathed, you know? It’s hard to describe, but before the procedure, just getting air into his lungs was such a struggle, if you catch my drift...

I have surgery scheduled in a couple of days to remove a vocal cord polip. I am wondering how long I should hold off on swimming at the pool, considering both the anesthesia and the procedure itself?

Sean Wilson40 said:I have surgery scheduled in a couple of days to remove a vocal cord polip. I am wondering how long I should hold off on swimming at the pool, considering both the anesthesia and the procedure itself?

That really depends on the surgeon's specific technique and how they approach the procedure. Personally, I'd highly recommend opting for laser removal if it's an option! If everything goes smoothly according to plan, you'll likely just spend one night at the hospital, and you could potentially get back into the pool in just a couple of days.👍

Thanks for the response!
I’m hoping my doctor uses laser technology for this here at Dbk 🙂
A few days—how many days exactly? 😁

Sean Wilson40 said:Thanks for the response!
I’m hoping my doctor uses laser technology for this here at Dbk 🙂
A few days—how many days exactly? 😁

That is definitely something you’ll need to clear with your surgeon...🙄

The surgeon handling my procedure is top-tier—thorough and highly competent.
He estimates a recovery window of 10 to 15 days due to the anesthesia effects. 😢
I am attempting to find a way to compress that timeline down to just 4 days.🙂

Just got back from the hospital after having a polyp removed. I didn't feel a single second of pain; the doctor was top-tier. The anesthesia left me feeling a bit loopy afterward, but it's fine. It's over...
Now we just wait for the biopsy results to come back in a few days. :/

Oh, and I'm on bed rest for 10 days.😢
No swimming pool for you! 😢

Just got my polyp surgery out of the way. Honestly? Not even a big deal. It was over before I knew it. They keep you overnight just to keep an eye on things, which makes sense—you’re basically out cold for half the day after anesthesia hits. I'll have to use an inhaler a couple of times later, too. My throat feels a little weird when I swallow, but it's barely noticeable. Just some warm tea and total vocal rest for me. No talking allowed. ;-)
Hopefully this helps someone out. ;-)

I had surgery to remove papillomas from my vocal cords about a month ago. My voice still hasn't come back, and speaking is a real struggle right now. Every doctor I see gives me a different story, so I wanted to check in—has anyone else here gone through something similar?
What are the odds of these papillomas coming back? And what kind of long-term effects should I expect from having multiple surgeries on my vocal cords?

Hey everyone.

Back in July 2018, I had surgery on my vocal cords—specifically a polyp. I went to the Mayo Clinic in Boston to have Dr. Aida Volić perform the procedure.

I’ve been singing for years, which is exactly why this happened in the first place.

The change in my voice started creeping up around February. My throat just wouldn't recover after gigs, and since I was performing almost every single weekend back then, there wasn't much downtime. I initially went to a clinic in Pittsburgh for an exam, where they told me I had some mucosal thickening. I figured, fine, it'll pass. But three weeks later, I felt about 5% better at best.

During my second follow-up, they gave me the same story, mostly because those guys in Pittsburgh didn't have the right equipment; they were just using a handheld mirror for exams. They recommended I head over to the phoniatry department at the Mayo Clinic to see Dr. Aida Volić, because they actually have the specialized cameras needed to get a real look at the vocal cords. So, that's what I did. Honestly, sitting there hearing that I had a polyp on my left vocal cord was a tough pill to swallow.

About four years prior, I had to have a polyp removed from my left nostril, so the doctors mentioned this would be a much simpler procedure by comparison.

I was admitted on Wednesday. On Thursday, I was wheeled into the OR around 9:45 AM, and I was back in my room by 10:15 AM. The whole thing took maybe twenty minutes.

Waking up, nothing felt out of the ordinary in my throat—everything seemed normal. I could talk, but I wasn't allowed to. That lasted about seven days. To be fair, the anesthesia didn't leave me feeling groggy or messed up; it was a light dose, so I felt pretty good once I came around.

The only thing that really got to me was the fasting. I was stuck with tea and nothing else. I had my last meal at 5:00 PM the day I was admitted, drank liquids until 10:00 PM, and then the entire day after the surgery, I couldn't eat a single thing. I didn't get to eat again until breakfast on Friday—that's nearly 40 hours without food. Needless to say, I was losing my mind.🤦

Truth be told, during those seven days of vocal rest, I’d occasionally sneak a few words out, though I wasn't being reckless about it. Recovery went smoothly. At my first check-up a couple of days later, they told me things looked great, though I was strictly forbidden from singing for about two months.

About a month and a half later, I started singing a little bit again, very carefully. Now, it's been almost three months since the surgery, and I feel incredible. My voice has never sounded better.

If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.

Cheers. :-)