[Vocal fold scars: pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy].

Scarring of the vocal folds leads to a deterioration of the highly complex microstructure with consecutively impaired vibratory pattern and glottic insufficiency. The resulting dysphonia is predominantly characterized by a reduced vocal capacity. Despite considerable progress in the understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, treatment of scarred vocal folds is still an unresolved chapter in laryngology and phonosurgery. Decisive for successful treatment is an individual, multidimensional concept that comprises the whole armamentarium of surgical and nonsurgical (e.g. voice therapy) modalities. The chosen phonosurgical method is determined by the main clinical feature: medialization techniques for treatment of glottic insufficiency, or epithelium-freeing techniques for improvement of vibration characteristics often combined with injection augmentation or implantation. In severe cases, buccal mucosa grafting can be an option. New developments include treatment with angiolytic lasers [pulse dye laser, PDL; potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser], or techniques of tissue engineering. However, despite promising results with in vitro experiments, animal studies and first clinical trials, application in clinical routine has not yet been achieved.