Throat polyps are blister-like growths on vocal cords caused by overuse, smoking, or medical conditions. Symptoms include hoarseness, sore throat, and fullness in the throat. Resting the voice, speech therapy, and inhaled steroids can help, but surgery is a last resort.
A throat polyp is a blister-like growth on the vocal cords typically caused by overuse or overuse of the voice. Smoking and medical conditions that affect stomach acid can also contribute to polyps. These growths are typically non-cancerous, although they can lead to other problems if left untreated.
People who use their voice heavily are more prone to developing a throat polyp. This includes people whose professions involve a lot of talking, yelling, or singing, such as teachers, artists, auctioneers, and radio and television personalities. The most common symptom and typically the first to appear is a general roughness or hoarseness of the voice, which may or may not be accompanied by a sore throat or a feeling of fullness in the throat.
Many conditions can lead to hoarseness, and voice changes that persist for more than a week or two should be evaluated by a doctor. Your doctor may use a thin instrument with a camera on the end called an endoscope to examine your vocal cords for signs of injury or a throat polyp. If your doctor suspects that your throat polyp may actually be a cancerous or precancerous lesion, your doctor may remove a small portion of the sore for a biopsy.
People who develop a throat polyp are usually advised to rest their voice completely for several weeks to give the vocal cords a chance to rest and recover. This may not make the polyp disappear completely, but it can reduce symptoms associated with the growth and allow the patient’s voice to return to normal. Patients with a throat polyp who smoke should discuss methods of quitting with their doctors to prevent the problem from getting worse.
Speech therapy, after an initial period of vocal rest, can help patients with throat polyps learn to care for their vocal cords. These therapy sessions include exercises to help patients find their normal pitch because talking, whispering, shouting, or singing regularly outside of normal pitch ranges can irritate the vocal cords. Inhaled steroids may help heal some polyps if vocal rest and speech therapy do not reduce the patient’s symptoms.
In severe cases that don’t respond to more conservative treatment methods, you may need surgery to remove a throat polyp. Surgical techniques are typically reserved for patients with severe symptoms or extremely large polyps. A surgeon can use an endoscope to view the vocal cords, and special surgical tools are used to remove the polyp. Some patients experience permanent voice changes after having surgery to remove a growth, so it should be an option of last resort, particularly for patients who rely on their voice for their occupations.
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