In April 2024, Dr. James Thomas joined Dr. Shiying Hey on The UEP VoiceBox — the podcast of the Union of European Phoniatricians — for a wide-ranging conversation about how laryngologists actually listen to the voice. The episode, titled Identifying Voice Disorders, traces Dr. Thomas’s unusual path into laryngology and distills decades of clinical thinking…
Standard Laryngeal Examination — An adequate assessment of the human voice, particularly pre- and post-surgery. Ideally two parts: audio recording and visual endoscopic examination including stroboscopy. Audio examination parameters: Speech (10-second standard reading passage), Maximum phonation time at comfortable pitch, Lowest pitch (stepwise glide), Highest pitch (stepwise glide), Loud sounds (at low and high pitch),…
Video post. Discussion with a colleague about vocal cord weakness — reviewing how to identify LCA paresis by focusing on the movement and position of the vocal processes. YouTube link. Migration note: Connects to the Neurolaryngology section (Part II Structural) and Part III Laryngoscopy.
Detailed critical review of: Dhillon VK, Randolph GW, Stack BC Jr, et al. Head & Neck 2020. Takes on flawed terminology (“immediate VFP”) and offers corrected statements for each of the paper’s 5 consensus points. Key arguments: “Vocal fold paralysis” is wrong terminology for surgical nerve injury — it should be “nerve injury/paresis.” Pre- and…
Online lecture released during COVID travel pause. Describes the phonogram — a graphic vocal signature — and how training the ear to recognize pitch/volume patterns of hoarseness allows diagnosis before endoscopy. Discusses “normal-looking larynx” scenario where audio patterns reveal the impairment the endoscope misses. Links to lecture video. Migration note: Core content for the “Vocal…
Vocal capabilities pattern matching — the most substantive blog post. Four patterns: (1) Vocal cord margin swellings (impairment at low volume, high pitch = lower right quadrant), (2) RLN paresis anterior branch (low pitch, low volume = lower left), (3) Vocal cord bowing (impairment at low volume across range), (4) External compression (impairment at all…
Announcement of book chapter published in Gender Affirmation Medical and Surgical Perspectives (Thieme, eds. Salgado, Monstrey, Djordjevic). Chapter pages 31–50 covers multiple surgical approaches for male-to-female voice modification with complete photographic documentation of Feminization Laryngoplasty and surgical technique details. Available from Thieme and Amazon. Migration note: Should link from Feminization Laryngoplasty and Publications pages.
Presentation at 23rd WPATH Symposium, Amsterdam, July 20, 2016. Describes the five procedures then utilized to alter pitch: (1) Cricothyroid approximation (Thyroplasty Type I), (2) Vocal cord webbing / VFSAAC / Wendler Glottoplasty, (3) Laser reduction — CO2 (LAVA / Laser Glottoplasty), (4) Laser vocal cord tuning — KTP, (5) Feminization Laryngoplasty.
Lecture at ELS Genoa on HD Laryngology. Combination of technique and equipment to maximize pixels on pathology. Olympus 4K setup shown at ~$80,000; comparable HD results achievable with lidocaine and good technique at far lower cost. Migration note: Supports the /HD QR flagship page.
10-minute video produced for ELS Genoa. Covers the rationale for listening to voice to make a diagnosis — altering pitch and volume while listening establishes the characteristic pattern for each type of voice disorder. Migration note: Could embed on Vocal Capabilities / Secrets of Listening page.
