What do you understand by the term "voice lift"? It is one of the greatest achievements in cosmetic surgery and is aimed at making a person’s voice sound more youthful. Here is an article telling you more about this surgery.
The medical field has achieved great milestones in cosmetic surgery. It is conducted to enhance a normal physical characteristic of an individual or rectify a physical abnormality. It is gaining a lot of popularity these days as people are getting more conscious about their appearance. Even though these kinds of surgery are expensive, people are willing to spend that extra amount from their pockets. There are many types of cosmetic surgery. A new addition to the list is “voice lift”.
Many aging men and women opt for smile makeovers and cosmetic surgery of the face and other body parts to regain their youthfulness. However, it appears as a disaster when a person looking so young sounds like an aged person. Cosmetic surgery of the face could only provide people with a youthful skin, but their voice would still sound as that of an aged person. Voice lift is a surgery that makes a person sound as young as he looks. Earlier doctors performed vocal cord surgery on individuals suffering from injuries in the vocal cord. But now, doctors are more engaged in surgeries pertaining to voice improvement.
Pre-treatment Examination
A person interested in getting a voice lift done has to undergo certain tests and examinations before the actual treatment. Doctors conduct voice evaluation on patients to identify the actual cause of voice problem. People link poor voice quality to aging, but there are several health problems apart from aging, that can cause problems related to voice. Aggravated diabetes and low thyroid function are some of the health problems that lead to poor voice quality. Therefore, doctors first try to find out if there is an underlying problem so that it can be treated before actually commencing the voice lift treatment.
Voice Lift Procedure
A voice lift procedure does not necessarily mean a surgery. Improvement in voice quality can be achieved by simply undergoing a voice therapy involving exercise. Around 75-80% cases are treated using voice therapy only. People undergoing voice therapy practice aerobic exercises to increase their lung capacity and undergo training to strengthen their vocal cords. Voice therapy is a gradual procedure for voice improvement and requires time and effort.
Cases in which voice lift cannot be achieved by mere exercising, surgical procedure is carried out. Aging results in improper closing of the vocal folds because of which air escapes from the closing and causes low voice, hoarseness, and trembling voice. During surgery, doctors increase the bulk of the vocal folds by implanting small shims made up of Gore-Tex or Silastic which are placed by making a tiny hole in the laryngeal cartilage. The shims bring the vocal folds close together resulting in tight closure of the folds, thus producing a firm voice with little effort. Recovery time is less and the patient gets back to normal activity in a few days after the procedure. Voice lift surgery is carried out with local anesthesia and does not require hospital stay.
Risks Involved
A surgery is after all a medical procedure and can be risky. A voice lift procedure gone wrong can cause even more damage to the voice, which may further require many more medical treatments. It is therefore essential to consult a good doctor if someone is interested in getting a voice lift done.
A person with an unsteady, low voice is generally considered to be less thoughtful and less confident by people. This is one of the major reasons why more and more people are considering this option. Many laryngologists do not support voice lift as it simply enhances the quality of the voice to make it sound youthful, while there are others who see no harm in it. In spite of this debate, voice lift is gaining popularity day by day and many people are looking forward to it.
