scaring on vocal cords - 3 1/2 years post treatment

jim108

saw rad doc this month for semi annual check up. (NED) he said he saw some scaring on vocal cords, which has never been previously noted before by him, the ENT surgeon and the speech pathologist. He did not offer any other info about it.

I didn't think to ask him about this in more detail (I got distracted by his sales pitch for LDRT for osteoarthritis - more on that in a subsequent post). I have a call into my speech pathologist to ask her for another scope & get her take on it. She's taught me more about rad fibrosis than any of the docs or nurses have. (She just had surgery so it may a while).

Is this a common occurrence? and if so this early post treatment? From my understanding of scaring "fibrosis" is that it is likely to get worse over time, yes? Treatments for this? Any thoughts, suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

wbcgaruss

Hello Jim, sorry you are having something show up down the road post-treatment.

So, Jim, you never noticed anything or felt anything, and there are no changes in your voice?

Your Rad Onc Dr. noted some vocal cord scarring on your regular follow-up.

He didn't say it was severe or bad; he just noted he sees scarring.

So it could be a very small to larger scarring.

I would say since you have not noticed any difference and the doctor noted it was big enough at least to see but certainly wasn't upset about it because he just gave it no more than a mention I think I would wait till thhe next checkup and see what he says then and discuss it with him.

I have been around the forums for a while, and I can't say I ever heard anyone mention vocal cord scarring just showing up post-treatment.

It can come from other causes, such as surgery.

Do you have pain, speech affected, or anything else you have noticed connected to it?

As far as a common occurrence, I would say not so.

Absolutely, though, if you are concerned about it don't hesitate to get some follow-up appointments and second opinions on it, the sooner these problems are addressed, the better.

I did some searching on it with some luck, check out this page and see if it helps…

What is Vocal Fold Scar: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Diagnosis

https://www.epainassist.com/face-mouth-throat/what-is-vocal-fold-scar

And here is another page with a lot of info you may find helpful information there…

Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy

Vocal Cord Scarring

https://kentamplinvocalacademy.com/voice-repair/issues/vocal-cord-scarring/

I hope something here may help and I wish you the very best.

Take Care, God Bless

Russ