Subjective voice assessment after thyroid surgery: A prospective study of 395 patients

Background: Total thyroidectomy has become a routine surgical procedure. However, postoperative complications are not rare and can lead to voice disorders. Aim: To study voice quality after total thyroidectomy. Settings and Design: Prospective study over a period of 5 years in 395 surgical patients undergoing total thyroidectomy. Materials and Methods: The voice quality of patients was based on systematic preoperative and postoperative laryngeal and voice examination. Voice assessment was performed by means of a voice quality questionnaire and recovery time within 12 months postoperatively. Patients who had inferior laryngeal nerve palsy were excluded from the study. Results: Preoperative subjective voice disorders were found in 21% of patients, and 49% had voice impairment after surgery. The recovery time was less than 1 month for one-half of the patients with impaired voices, and 85% of the patients had recovered their voice after 5 months. At the 1-year postoperative examination, the permanent impaired voice rate was 1.26%. Conclusion: Voice impairment is common after thyroidectomy but usually transient, and less than 20% persist at 6 months. Patients must be informed about the risk of voice impairment after thyroid surgery. An objective voice assessment is desirable to monitor the presence and progress of voice disorders.