Vocal fold augmentation with calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA)

Abstract

Objectives Evaluate the effectiveness of CaHA injection for patients with glottal incompetence. Methods Multi-center, open-label, prospective clinical study with each patient serving as his/her own control. Voice-related outcome measures were collected for pre-injection and 1, 3, and 6 months. Results Sixty-eight patients were available for evaluation. Fifty percent of the injection procedures were done in office. Fifty-seven percent were diagnosed with unilateral paralysis and 42% with glottal incompetence with mobile vocal folds. Patient satisfaction 6 months post showed 56% had significantly improved voice and 38% reported moderately improved voice. Paired t tests from baseline to 6 months showed significant improvements on the VHI and VAS (vocal effort), CAPE-V judgments of voice severity and videoendostroboscopy ratings of glottal closure, and objective voice measures of glottal closure (MPT and S:Z ratio). Conclusions Preliminary results in this large cohort of patients demonstrate excellent clinical results.