Glottoplasty

Vocal Fold Webbing for voice feminization

Glottoplasty for voice feminization

Although a female voice is not only an octave apart from a male voice, the mainstay of feminization laryngoplasty for pitch raising surgery is glottoplasty.
The surgical techniques of a  glottoplasty is optimizezed bei surgeons like Wendler, Kim, Hess and other phonosurgeons.

The main goal of glottoplasty is to increase the fundamental pitch by tightening, shortening and/or thinning the vocal folds in a symmetrical manner. All three techniques lead purely physiologically to an increase in the vibration frequency of the vocal folds. Since our ear also responds to the resonance spectrum in the vocal tract (‘timbre’) with regard to gender recognition, an additional supportive effect of vocal feminization can usually be achieved by surgically reducing the supraglottic resonance chambers.

Some short information about Voice Feminization Suirgery
Nähte bei der (Glottoplastik)
Stimmfeminisierung
Nähte Glottoplastik
Glottoplastik Threads
30%-50% of the vocal folds, which are only a few millimeters long, are gently thinned out with the finest microsurgical instruments sutured together  with a hair-thin, resistant thread (6-0 permanet .

Surgery technique

Under general anaesthesia, a metal tube (laryngoscope) is placed through the mouth to lift the tongue out of the way and visualize the vocal cords directly. Using a microscope, the lining of the vibrating portion of the vocal cords is removed from the front half of the vocal cords. The vocal folds are surgically shortened by anterior suturing and subsequent permanent union, so that a higher fundamental frequency is enforced in the posterior remaining, oscillating segment. An additional combination with anterior-lateral augmentation, btx injection and thinning of the inferior vocal folds may be useful.

Because in gender recognition our ear also responds to the resonance spectrum in the vocal tract (‘timbre’) , the surgical suppression of the supraglottic resonance chambers usually provides an additional supportive effect of voice feminization. The surgery is performed under general anaesthesia and through the mouth. Consequently, there is no external incision.  The whole procedure can be done in about 1 1/2 hour and the patient is able to go home the same day.

After a voice feminization surgery an voice therapy (Trans*Voice-Therapy) is highly recommended.

More information about voice feminization