Comparison of subjective and objective tools in transoral laser cordectomy for early glottic cancer: importance of voice handicap index.

Several studies in recent years have already reported good oncologic results with laser microsurgery in the treatment of early glottic carcinoma. We conducted a longitudinal voice evaluation, in patients with early glottic cancer who underwent transoral laser cordectomy, in order to assess the voice quality outcome and its relationship with objective and subjective (voice handicap index questionnaire and GIRBAS scale) means. Twenty-four previously untreated patients underwent transoral laser cordectomy for early glottic cancer. All patients underwent subjective and objective voice assessment according to the multidimensional voice protocol recommended by the European Laryngological Society including acoustic, perceptual and stroboscopic analysis combined to patient self assessment of voice (voice handicap index-VHI). These evaluations were performed before treatment and 6 months after the treatment. Vocal fold healing was complete in all cases by 6 months following surgery. Main voice parameters (subjective and objective) resulted improved at the 6-month control after surgery. In particular, voice handicap index (VHI) and GIRBAS scale resulted reliable for voice assessment and for the postoperative follow-up. In conclusion, VHI, GIRBAS, multidimensional voice program (MDVP) and spectroacoustic parameters showed a close trend in the present study, and this confirms the validity of the voice analysis performed by each tool.