Lamina propria of the mucosa of benign lesions of the vocal folds

Objective/Hypothesis: To demonstrate a correlation between the duration and specific pattern of trauma of benign lesions of the vocal folds and their histopathologic appearance, Benign lesions of the vocal folds have various macroscopic appearances. Investigations demonstrate characteristic histopat hologic features for three clinically well-defined lesions: 1) vocal fold p olyps, 2) Reinke edema, and 3) vocal fold nodules. It is expected that addi tional histological stainings can contribute to additional insight into the pathophysiology of these lesions. Study Design Retrospective. Methods: His tological stainings were used to study the constitution of the lamina propr ia of the mucosa: Verhoeff-van Gieson, Masson trichrome, alcian blue and al cian blue after pretreatment with hyaluronidase, Results: Estimation of the age of a lesion was not possible. Specific observations: 1) accumulation o f hyaluronic acid around vessels occurred uniquely in polyps and 2) transve rse orientation of elastic fibers was more often seen in vocal fold nodules , Combinations of histopathologic findings were specific to the lesion. Con clusions: The additional stainings support our previous observations, but h ad no additional discriminating value in making a histopathologic diagnosis .