Vocal chord paralysis following lobectomy

[Rezillo]

Wondering if anyone has experience of this and has recovered?I had a right upper lobectomy by VATS for an adenocarcinoma and large lymph nodes, one of which was clung to my trachea and had to be dissected off. The 'recurrent laryngeal nerve ' runs close by and serves the vocal chords.

On waking up from surgery in Sept 2024 I had little voice and 5 months later the same. Saw an ENT consultant who diagnosed vocal chord paralysis on the right side due to nerve damage.

I'm getting a bit down about it now and it's impact on my life (I do appreciate being alive though!). Having private vocal therapy to try and help but waiting for fillers treatment appointment with no idea how long the waiting will be.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Peter

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi Peter

Sorry to hear about your lung cancer and vocal chord paralysis , it is understandable that this is getting you down. It can affect a very small percentage of people and it can take quite a few months to recover, but with speech therapy there can be some improvement. Your speech therapist and ENT doctor will be able to advise on this.

I hope you hear from others who may have experienced the same, it can feel quite isolating, not just having cancer but if your speech is affected in anyway or communicating with others and the effort and energy that may take.

I am unsure how fully your vocal chords are affected, but if you feel able to participate, we offer online support groups through zoom, you can view and register for these through this link: roycastle.org/help-and-supp... alternatively you can email our support coordinator Ellen Knapp at [e-mail]

You may wish to connect with others and find support from this website who specialise in people who have voice problems: lary.org.uk/

or their Facebook page: facebook.com/p/Voice-Proble...

If you would like to discuss anything you can email our ask the nurse service at [e-mail] or if you can manage to chat, you can call us on 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600

I hope you have recovered well from your surgery and continue to improve with your vocal therapist.

Kind regards

Ask the nurse support team

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

[Rezillo in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

Thanks for the links. I will definitely explore some of them.

[I_love_running]

Hi Peter

I am currently experiencing the same. I have had 3 rounds of chemo, 30 sessions of Radiotherapy and am now on Immunotherapy. My left vocal chord is paralised, radiotherapy damage. I have seen an ENT consultant who has advised they can inject my chord with Botox or similar which should hopefully help. I have been added to the waiting list for the procedure. I know exactly how you feel. My confidence has taken such a knock as I am always struggling to try to get people to understand me and it's is pretty exhausting by the end of the day. I hope you hear something very soon

Tina

[Rezillo in reply to I_love_running]

Thanks for your reply and sorry to hear your having this awful vocal folds paralysis. It's really frustrating isn't it especially when people show irritation because they don't match what your trying to say above background noise.My vocal therapy exercises are making it less whisper and more gruff but not much louder. I also have a dry, tickly larynx which often makes me cough when trying to speak. Vocal exercises have made that a bit worse with all the work. I find inhaling steam from a cup of boiling water eases it a bit.

The lung nurses at Huddersfield are chasing Bradford ENT for me and I'm told that I should hear soon. I believe they will inject fillers next to the paralysed chords to push it out so that the good one has something to vibrate against.

I'm also told they will need to do it every 3 months but only do it twice. If after a year, the nerve has repaired itself, they can do surgery to reshape the larynx. Apparatus is a good and effective resolution.

Before this, I sang bass in a male voice choir and sang with my guitar at open mic nights and played in a band. So singing has been a big part of my life. Not sure if I'll be abto sing again but I have hope that eventually the treatment might even improve voice.

Hope is what we have got!

Let me know how you get on with your injection.

[I_love_running in reply to Rezillo]

Oh bless you, sounds like you are really going through it. Yes we have to cling onto hope. Wishing you all the best and keep me updated. My job involves mostly phone work as I work in a GP surgery so I am currently off sick and hoping the injection helps. No way at the moment I can be calling patients!! Take care