Laryngoscopy surgery recovery
What can you eat after a laryngoscopy?
Post operative instructions for direct laryngoscopy
Is a laryngoscopy considered surgery?
How long does a laryngoscopy take?
What happens after vocal cord surgery?
What to expect after voice surgery?
Laryngoscopy surgery recovery & aftercare
After the procedure, your throat may feel sore or slightly swollen for 2 to 5 days. You may sound hoarse for 1 to 8 weeks, depending on what was done during the procedure.
Your doctor may ask you to speak as little as possible for 1 to 2 weeks after the procedure. If you speak, use your normal tone of voice and do not talk for very long. Whispering or shouting can strain your vocal cords as they are trying to heal. Try to avoid coughing or clearing your throat while your throat heals. These activities can also damage your vocal cords.
If the doctor took a sample of tissue for study, it is normal to spit up a small amount of blood after the procedure. Talk to your doctor about how much bleeding to expect and how long the bleeding may last.
If the doctor took a biopsy, the doctor or nurse will call you with the test results. It may take 2 to 5 days to get the results.
This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace. Follow the steps below to feel better as quickly as possible.
You can suck on ice or gargle with salt water to ease a sore throat. Over-the-counter pain relievers or throat lozenges can help as well.
If doctors took a tissue sample, the results may take 3 to 5 days to come back. She might schedule another appointment to talk about what she found.
What can you eat after a laryngoscopy?
During the first 24 hours, take clear cold liquids. You may have a regular diet thereafter or as tolerated. Start out with cool, clear liquids; flavoured ice pops; and ice cream. Next, try soft foods like pudding, yogurt, canned or cooked fruit, scrambled eggs, and mashed potatoes. Do not eat hard or scratchy foods such as chips or raw vegetables until your throat has healed.
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Post operative instructions for direct laryngoscopy
- Restricted Activities: for the first four to six hours after surgery, limit activity to
bathroom privilages. After that you may generally resume near normal activity. You must
not smoke. Smoking will significantly increase pain and slow healing.
- Voice Rest: We recommend voice rest for 2-4 days and vocal discretion after that for a
certain period of time. This means that you should not talk at all for the first 2-4 days
after the surgery. After this, you should not yell, scream or sing, you also avoid talking
loudly or speaking for extended periods of time. The surgeon can advise you when you
may begin to use your voice more forcefully.
- Post-Operative Pain: You may have a mild sore throat for 2-3 days after surgery. After
the surgery, you can use throat lozenges or sprays to help numb the thorat and make
eating more comfortable. Tylenol can also be used to relieve discomfort. Do not use
aspirin after the surgery until approved by your doctor.
- Bleeding: During the first few days following surgery, you may cough up some dark
blood or blood clots. If bright red blood is present, please notify your doctor immediately.
- Fever: It is common for you to run a fever below 100 degrees. If you experience a fever
above 100 degrees for more than a day or a fever of over 103 degrees for any period of
time, call the office.
- Sleeping: You should sleep in whatever position is most comfortable and it is highly
recommended that a humidifier be used to keep the throat moist.
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Is a laryngoscopy considered surgery?
There are several ways your doctor may do this procedure:
Indirect laryngoscopy. This is the simplest form. Your doctor uses a small mirror and a light to look into your throat. The mirror is on a long handle, like the kind a dentist often uses, and it’s placed against the roof of your mouth.
The doctor shines a light into your mouth to see the image in the mirror. It can be done in a doctor’s office in just 5 to 10 minutes.
You’ll sit in a chair while the exam is done. Your doctor might spray something into your throat to make it numb. Having something stuck in your throat might make you gag, however.
Direct fiber-optic laryngoscopy. Many doctors now do this kind, sometimes called flexible laryngoscopy. She uses a small telescope at the end of a cable, which goes up your nose and down into your throat.
It takes less than 10 minutes. You’ll get a numbing medication for your nose. Sometimes a decongestant is used to open your nasal passages as well. Gagging is a common reaction with this procedure as well.
Direct laryngoscopy. This is the most involved type. Your doctor uses a laryngoscope to push down your tongue and lift up the epiglottis. That’s the flap of cartilage that covers your windpipe. It opens during breathing and closes during swallowing.
Your doctor can do this to remove small growths or samples of tissue for testing. He can also use this procedure to insert a tube into the windpipe to help someone breathe during an emergency or in surgery.
Direct laryngoscopy can take up to 45 minutes. You’ll be given what’s called general anesthesia, so that you will not be awake during the procedure. Your doctor can take out any growths in your throat or take a sample of something that might need to be checked more closely.
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How long does a laryngoscopy take?
Direct laryngoscopy can take up to 45 minutes. You'll be given what's called general anesthesia, so that you will not be awake during the procedure.
What happens after vocal cord surgery?
Voice rest is very important after certain vocal fold injuries and surgeries. Your vocal cords will not heal properly if they are overused during this time. Just as you would not consider running a day after knee surgery, you should try not to talk or make any noise after surgery on your vocal cords. Below are some general guidelines for voice rest. These will be tailored to meet your specific needs by your physician, speech pathologist and/or singing voice specialist.
What to expect after voice surgery?
- Typically, your physician will prescribe three to seven days of voice rest after surgery.
- This means absolutely no talking, throat clearing, whispering, or coughing (if you can avoid it).
- Any noise that you make can be damaging and may make it difficult for the vocal cords to heal properly.
- Exercise, such as weightlifting, straining in the bathroom, and any other activity that produces forceful vocal cord closure may result in injury and effect the post operative result.
- Playing some musical instruments, like wind instruments, may result in forceful vocal cord contact. If you are an active instrumentalist, please discuss this issue with your voice care team prior to vocal fold surgery.
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