(0733) Surgical Management of Voice Disorders: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

Introduction: The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the systematic reviews in voice literature that discuss surgical approaches and outcomes related to various voice disorders.

Methods: Two authors individually searched Pubmed/Medline and Embase for eligible systematic reviews. Eligible reviews included in this umbrella review were published between 2013 and September 2023 and focused on subjects with vocal disorders who had undergone surgical procedures, with the goal of outlining the various surgical methods used to treat certain disorders. The extracted data variables of interest included the study publication details, study design, specific pathologies, patient populations and surgical methods employed.

Results: Our initial search to identify systematic reviews related to voice in Pubmed/Medline and Embase identified a total of 1997 publications. After two-physician screening, 62 publications met inclusion criteria focusing on surgical management of voice disorders. Within these systematic reviews, a total of 947 individual studies were included with each study ranging from 1 to 67. Conditions studied included but were not limited to vocal fold atrophy, laryngeal cancer, dysphonia, glottal insufficiency, vocal fold lesions, vocal fold paralysis, presbyphonia, reinke’s edema, scars, vocal feminization, and webs. Numerous interventions associated with each pathology were explored to assess if surgical management provided favorable voice outcomes.

Conclusions: This study provides a detailed review of all available systematic reviews regarding the surgical management of voice disorders. An umbrella review was carried out to pinpoint overarching research themes within the voice surgical literature, ultimately aiming to offer guidance to physicians in their practices, steer future research endeavors, and establish a foundation for the formulation of forthcoming guidelines in this field.