Voicebox Consult

We met with Dr Ekbom today.  His nurse used a scope to look at my voicebox so they could see what was happening there.  The right side only moves the slightest amount.  The left side is doing all the work when I talk.  This was what we expected since we had seen that before.  He recommended two things.  The vocal cord injection and a dilation of the airway.  Or I could do a permanent surgery but it is more invasive and I would have to stop the chemo for longer so we are going to do the less invasive route.  In some patients it lasts 3-6 months, in some it lasts much longer.  Tomorrow I need to do another swallow study as Dr Ekbom wants that to see where things are getting stuck before he does the procedure.  That is after lunch, and we couldn't get it soon enough to do the procedure tomorrow.  So we will have to come back up, probably the week of Christmas.  The procedure will be outpatient but they will put me under general anesthesia so I don't have to worry about my gag reflex.

Derek & Leann