Stick That In Your Vocal Cords and Shave It!

I went back to the ENT on Friday.  Yep, torture rope again.  After last time, I was sweaty palmed to say the least, but much to my relief, it wasn't too bad.  The doctor was able to quickly confirm that I'd not experienced much improvement and decided we needed a new plan of action.  Bu-bye Prilosec, it's time for surgery.

It's a simple, outpatient procedure called a Microlaryngoscopy.  In this procedure, they will shave off the excess, "beefy" tissue making up my abnormally thick vocal cords.  The excised tissue will then be biopsied, so we know better what we are dealing with.  They will operate on one cord at a time, allowing one to heal before shaving the other.  Each surgery will require one to two weeks of total voice rest immediately thereafter, and will most likely take about a month for me to regain optimum use of each cord.  

My doctor predicts I will sound fairly close to my old self once that happens; however, the amount of time that will last is unknown.  The surgery will undoubtedly give me a little scar tissue on each cord, causing slight changes in the vocal folds, but he seems highly optimistic that the scarring will be minor in comparison to the excess tissue I'm dealing with now.

My doctor described the procedure as kind of a "roto rooter technique".  Harsh, right?  But honestly, I am eager and ready.  My voice problems sound so minor in the grand scheme of health problems, but I can't tell you how it has affected things for me.  I know I've said this before, but so much of a person's personality and public perception comes from the sound of their voice.  I didn't realize this before I had these problems and started sounding like a winded dude with allergies and a carton of cigarettes.  I'll get in to specifics in another post on another day, but until then, think about it.  I never realized how much I pre-judged people over the phone until now.  I didn't have a gorgeous voice before, but at least I sounded slightly feminine.  

So, surgery is scheduled for late May.  I'm ready to get the show on the road.  Maybe once I'm healed, I'll post a singing vlog!!!  Okay, I'm kidding.  I love you too much.  I won't subject you to that.