Home . Voice box Cancer . Endoscopic Laser Surgery

Endoscopic Laser Surgery

Endoscopic Laser Surgery

Smoking is a risk factor for voice, box cancer, which most commonly affects the vocal cords (glottis). The area above the vocal cords (supraglottis) it’s only involved in a third of the cases or not until the cancer has grown very large. Approximately 12,000 people with voice box cancer are diagnosed in the US every year.

Symptoms
There are a number of symptoms that are associated with voice box cancer, which include:

Hoarseness (any hoarseness persisting longer than three weeks should be evaluated by an ENT)
Sore throat
Pain radiating to the ear
Coughing up blood
Lump in neck

Treatment
Voice box cancer it’s categorized into 4 stages, which take the size and location of the tumor into consideration but also the possible spread to lymph nodes in the neck and other places in the body. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are general treatment considerations.

Endoscopic laser surgery can be considered for many voice box cancers, especially early-stage glottic cancers. Dr. Weidenbecher is an expert in minimally invasive surgery for voice box cancer. He often uses a KTP-laser (potassium titanyl phosphate laser) in conjunction with a microscope to gently remove the cancer while preserving as much of the normal vocal cord tissue as possible to maintain the best possible voice postoperatively.

Recent research has shown that laser surgery is the preferred treatment for many early-stage vocal cord cancers as patients do not have to undergo a seven-week-long course of radiation therapy with similar oncologic outcomes. The recovery time following laser surgery is usually only a few days with typically no voice or diet restrictions postoperatively. Cancer outcomes after laser surgery have also proven to be excellent when compared to other treatment modalities

View Our Gallery & Videos

Squamous cell cancer of the right vocal cord.

5 years after KTP laser removal of the cancer the patient has no signs of recurrence. She has no complications and her voice is normal.

WHAT OUR PATIENTS SAY

Such a good Dr. He finds the problem and gives details on correcting the problem and suggests the routine to get rid of the problem. He will not recommend a surgeon if you don’t need it.

Call the best. He tweaked my vocal cords and my voice is now exactly where I want it.

Dr. Mark is the best.

He has taken the time to diagnose and understand my husband's health problem. We are grateful for his help.

He is very compassionate, caring, and thorough.

Very knowledgeable, very professional, and always asked if I had any questions. Willing to go the extra mile. I have been seeing him for 7 years and I would recommend him to anyone who needed an ENT.

Excellent Doctor

My doctor is very compassionate to all his patients. I witness this every time I come. I hear how he talks to his staff and interns. A Great mentor. I look for these things in knowing whose hands my care is in. Dr. Mark Shows empathy and he LISTENS, whereas some don't take the time to understand let alone touch the abnormal lumps and nodules, they rush you out to get a pay check. I look for these things. Dr. Mark is excellent in his profession and very knowledgeable in his practice. I trust his medical decisions, and plan of care for treatments. Thank you Dr. Mark Weidenbecher

Very caring Provider. He is the best sleep surgeon in Ohio.

I have had a good experience with Dr. Weidenbecher since he previously did surgery on me. He is very knowledgeable and I would recommend him.

Very knowledgeable Dr. Great with patients and knows his field well

Very nice experience. He answered questions and explained things. Set up a plan of care to address health issues and worked out perfect.

Dr. Weidenbecher was very professional. He explained everything thoroughly. I did not feel rushed with my appointment. I would recommend him to my family and friends.

Very helpful and easy to work with

He takes great care and concern for his patients. Very professional and has a great personality.

This provider is very sincere, dedicated & caring. He wants to help resolve whatever health issue you might have and listens well.

Thorough, compassionate.

He is very thorough. I trust him. I did my surgery and I was so happy with the results.

Dr. Weidenbecher is very thoughtful, informative, and personable

The physician personally called me to discuss the findings on my latest CT Scan and recommended holding off on surgery until further testing.

Always treats me with so much respect and is on time.

Just excellent. No other words.

Don’t look anywhere else. Highly skilled surgeon. I felt so comfortable.