Case

A patient comes into your clinic with hoarse voice. Their blood pressure, temperature, cardiovascular responses, and respiration are normal. During your history, you learn that the patient recently had surgery to remove a thyroid tumor several weeks ago. A CT and MRI of the neck show no abnormalities.

Question 1/3 - What do you suspect has happened?

Click on your selected option(s) below  (correct = 1,  over-thinking = 2+)

Next Question

Incorrect. While the strap muscles may have been transected, these are external to the larynx, with most of the strap muscles functioning to pulling the larynx inferiorly, thus they do not significantly affect the voice itself.

Correct! The alteration of function post surgery could be due either to injury of the nerve during surgery (called lactrogenic, defined as any causation or complication due to medical activity) or post-surgery inflammation affecting the nerve.   

Incorrect. Although removal of the tumor might have removed thyroid gland tissue, the history does not indicate the status of the gland. More to come in the hormones course, but in general thyroid hormones are involved in basal metabolic state, not in speech.

Incorrect. The thyroid gland is located superficial to the larynx/trachea.  Thus, it is unlikely that the surgeon would have punctured the airway sufficient to have damaged the vocal cords themselves.