Feminization Laryngoplasty - A Comprehensive Approach to Reducing the Size of the Larynx and Pharynx.

ABSTRACT

Feminization Laryngoplasty evolved from the aim to change a voice from a male quality to a female quality. Larynx and pharynx in a male have undergone enlargement during puberty and as there is no endocrine method for shrinking structures, a surgery that reduces the size of male structures toward the size of female structures might appropriately alter the voice. A smaller larynx and pharynx might raise both the fundamental frequency of the voice and the resonant frequency of the vocal tract. The surgery is used for transgender individuals who desire a female voice, for individuals who fail speech therapy and for complications of tracheal shave procedures whereby the vocal cords have been loosened.