Longstanding recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis: impact on voice quality

Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in the larynx often requires frequent surgical procedures in order to keep voice quality reasonable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the speaking voice quality of patients with longstanding recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis (RLP). The patients were seven males with adult-onset RLP whose disease had lasted over 5 years, and who were free of papilloma at the time of examination. Each patient had an age- and gender-matched control with similar smoking habits. Voice samples were recorded and acoustic analysis as well as perceptual listening test were performed. In our series a perceptual test discriminates between normal and pathological voice quality more precisely than acoustical voice analysis. It appears that the voice of the papilloma patient, even after frequent phonosurgical operations, is not deviant from the normal when analyzed acoustically, but perceptual assessment shows that overall quality is less than optimal, and roughness and breathiness are increased.