River ENT Voice Center
Your voice is one of the most important ways to express yourself. Whether you are a professional voice user or not, your voice is an integral part of you. We offer in office videostroboscopy, which is a specialized way of looking at the vocal folds (voice box or vocal cords). The vocal folds vibrate so fast that this fine movement cannot be seen by the naked eye. Stroboscopy uses controlled high-speed flashes of light that are timed to the frequency of the voice, showing a slow motion view of this vibration. Images are often captured on video. The procedure is done using a thin camera within a wire that is passed through the nose to view the vocal cords. At other times, the procedure is done using a small telescope that sits on the tongue. Usually a numbing medicine is sprayed in the nose or the throat to minimize discomfort and avoid gagging. Videostroboscopy, takes a few minutes and is tolerated even by young children.
Most often patients come to the River ENT Voice Center with problems such as hoarseness, trouble with their singing or performing voice, pain or discomfort with speaking, breathing difficulties or persistent coughing.
The River ENT Voice Center includes Dr. Esther Cheung-Phillips, who herself is a singer and musician and graduated with a degree in theatre arts, along with Loraine Stuart, M.S., CCC-A/SLP, a speech language pathologist, who has special training in voice and swallowing therapy.
Some of the problems we treat and some of the many services we perform at River ENT Voice Center are:
- Injection augmentation for vocal fold immobility/hoarseness and problems swallowing
- Treatment for voice disorders such as spasmodic dysphonia including laryngeal botox injections
- Voice therapy
- Vocal polyps, cysts, nodules
- Vocal fold papilloma (recurrent respiratory papillomatosis or RRP)
- Throat cancer (laryngeal cancer)
Click on these links for great resources regarding your voice from ENTNET.ORG
- Special Care Voice Users
- Common Problems Can Affect Your Voice
- Vocal Warmup Put Your Best Voice Forward
Swallowing
Difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) is common among all age groups, especially the elderly. The term dysphagia refers to the feeling of difficulty passing food or liquid from the mouth to the stomach. This may be caused by many factors, most of which are temporary and not threatening. Difficulties in swallowing rarely represent a more serious disease, such as a tumor or a progressive neurological disorder. When the difficulty does not clear up by itself in a short period of time, you should see an otolaryngologist – head and neck surgeon.
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