TREATMENT OF VENTRICULAR DYSPHONIA WITH BOTULINUM TOXIN

Ventricular dysphonia, traditionally known as dysphonia plica ventricu laris, is a voicing disorder in which the false vocal folds are used a s a vibratory source in addition to or instead of the true vocal folds . Traditional treatment of ventricular dysphonia has been voice therap y, which may be slow to produce results if the false fold activity mas ks an underlying problem of the true folds, is long standing, or has p roduced hypertrophy of the supraglottic structures. We present seven c ases of ventricular dysphonia treated with botulinum toxin injection i nto the false vocal folds followed by speech therapy. The addition of botulinum toxin to the treatment regimen speeds recovery of normal voi cing and allows immediate evaluation of dynamic true vocal fold functi on by the treating professional.