Efficacy Study of Botulinum Toxin (BOTOX) Injections to Treat Vocal Fold Granulomas

Summary

Vocal process granulomas are inflammatory masses caused in part by vocal trauma that arise in the posterior aspect of the vocal folds and result in throat pain, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, and globus sensation. Antireflux therapy treats most granulomas, but many are recalcitrant to this therapy or take months to years to resolve. Botulinum toxin injection into the thyroarytenoid muscle has been effectively employed for recalcitrant granuloma, but causes significant voice loss, occasional difficulty swallowing and, in our clinical experience, is associated with significant recurrence. The investigators propose injecting another muscle in the larynx called the interarytenoid muscle with botulinum toxin type A to maintain the benefit of injection with less loss of voice. The investigators have shown the effectiveness of this treatment in a small, retrospective analysis.

Timeline

Start

2012-09

Primary completion

2015-01

Completion

2015-01

Publications

• Background de Lima Pontes PA, De Biase NG, Gadelha EC. Clinical evolution of laryngeal granulomas: treatment and prognosis. Laryngoscope. 1999 Feb;109(2 Pt 1):289-94. doi: 10.1097/00005537-199902000-00021.
• Background Emami AJ, Morrison M, Rammage L, Bosch D. Treatment of laryngeal contact ulcers and granulomas: a 12-year retrospective analysis. J Voice. 1999 Dec;13(4):612-7. doi: 10.1016/s0892-1997(99)80015-0.
• Background Pham J, Yin S, Morgan M, Stucker F, Nathan CO. Botulinum toxin: helpful adjunct to early resolution of laryngeal granulomas. J Laryngol Otol. 2004 Oct;118(10):781-5. doi: 10.1258/0022215042450788.
• Background Nasri S, Sercarz JA, McAlpin T, Berke GS. Treatment of vocal fold granuloma using botulinum toxin type A. Laryngoscope. 1995 Jun;105(6):585-8. doi: 10.1288/00005537-199506000-00005.
• Background Damrose EJ, Damrose JF. Botulinum toxin as adjunctive therapy in refractory laryngeal granuloma. J Laryngol Otol. 2008 Aug;122(8):824-8. doi: 10.1017/S0022215107000710. Epub 2007 Oct 2.
• Background Ylitalo R, Lindestad PA. A retrospective study of contact granuloma. Laryngoscope. 1999 Mar;109(3):433-6. doi: 10.1097/00005537-199903000-00017.

Drugs

Indications