Keith Roach, MD, Syndicated Columnist
Dear Dr. Roach: My daughter (45 years old) has had paralysis in her left vocal cord for about a year. We saw an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor who performed at least 6 tests including several scans. These did not indicate the cause of the problem and everything else appeared normal. She had a cold before this happened. We were treating her for a persistent sore throat.
Doctors said there was nothing they could do to unfreeze my vocal cords. I would like your opinion on this as she has a lot of pain with it and she is coughing trying to get whatever is stuck in there out. — K.P.
Answer: Vocal cord paralysis is often caused by damage to the nerves leading to the vocal cords. There is one on each side.
The left side is particularly vulnerable and can be damaged during surgery (particularly thyroid surgery), but the big concern is that masses (especially cancerous masses) can damage nerves and cause paralysis of the vocal cords. That's true. This is why her doctor performed a CT scan.
There are also less common causes, such as neurological damage from other occurrences (stroke or multiple sclerosis). Inflammatory diseases (such as lupus); Infectious diseases (such as Lyme disease). Otorhinolaryngologists appear to have looked for other possibilities. (But if you don't, you should.)
If the cause is not found, we call it so “Idiopathic unilateral vocal cord paralysis.” This often occurs after a viral infection, and it sounds like your daughter may have had the virus as well.
Most people with this condition get better on their own during the first year, but her case has now been about a year old and likely won't get better without treatment.
I'm not a treatment expert, but otolaryngologists perform several types of surgical interventions to improve hoarseness, coughing, and discomfort.
It's time to return to your otolaryngologist or be referred to a specialist in surgical treatment of this condition.
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