Perioperative voice therapy for singers undergoing phonomicrosurgery

Preoperative and postoperative voice therapy has become a widely accepted practice by laryngologists who regularly perform phonomicrosurgery. However, there is a lack of literature to guide teams of surgeons and speech-language pathologists in order to best support their patients. This gap in the literature is especially apparent when working with singers who have a unique set of vocal demands. The decision to perform surgery on the vocal folds should never be taken lightly and should ideally be made as a team considering the perspectives of the patient, laryngologist, speech-language pathologist, and perhaps singing teacher. This decision is often made after a period of voice therapy, as a large number of vocal fold pathologies can be treated with voice therapy alone. Therapy can also identify and address the vocal behaviors that led to the development of the pathology. However, for those singers with persistent debilitating lesions or lesions that are highly unlikely to respond to therapy alone, phonomicrosurgery becomes a necessity. In this commentary, the importance of perioperative voice therapy for singers undergoing phonomicrosurgery will be discussed with an emphasis on the way one multidisciplinary center approaches care for these individuals.