Autologous Fat Augmentation of the Vocal Folds

Abstract

Autologous fat augmentation of the vocal folds has become widely adopted as a means of vocal rehabilitation in patients with deficient glottal closure. In general, the injection method using autologous tissues presents no problems regarding safety issues such as infection of unknown cause, but the period of continuous effect is not constant because absorption may occur after injection.
The details of postoperative course were reported for 99 cases during the 8 years from August 2003 to April 2011. In all cases, maximum phonation time was improved.
In animal experiments using dogs and rabbits, it was confirmed that the decreased effectiveness caused by absorption after injection can be reduced by administration of platelet-rich plasma (PRP).