Giving Voice to the Voiceless


Losing one’s voice after an operation is very traumatic, and for patients with throat cancer, it becomes an added burden. India witnesses about 25,000-30,000 throat cancer cases each year, out of which at least 5,000 patients stand to lose their voice box due to the advanced stages of the disease.

Thanks to Dr. Vishal Rao, head and neck surgeon at Bengaluru-based HCG Hospital who has come up with a simple and affordable voice box prosthesis, patients can ‘speak’ again and swallow food.

According to Rao, one of the major disadvantages for throat cancer patients is the loss of their voice box when they undergo laryngectomy, the surgical removal of larynx. This is a hollow muscular organ forming an air passage to the lungs and holds the vocal cords.

Rao, a visiting scholar to the Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the US, says, “The larynx houses the vocal cords through which sound is produced...................Read more

 

Source: The New Indian Express


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