Second Opinion — Voice & Vocal Cord Disorders
Second Opinion for Voice & Vocal Cord Disorders
For patients living with hoarseness, vocal cord lesions, laryngeal cancer, or voice changes after treatment — a careful review of your stroboscopy, imaging and pathology by a fellowship-trained laryngologist before you commit to surgery, radiation or long-term voice therapy.
MCh Head & NeckEuropean Board FEB (ORL-HNS)Fellowship — Laryngology & VoiceTeam Leader — India's first TORS-assisted total laryngectomy (2022)40 peer-reviewed publications
When a second opinion matters most
- You've had hoarseness for more than 3 weeks and your local doctor is unsure whether it's a benign lesion or something more serious
- You've been diagnosed with a vocal cord lesion (nodule, polyp, cyst, papilloma, leukoplakia, dysplasia) and want to know whether microsurgery, laser, or voice therapy is the right first step
- You've been told you have early-stage laryngeal cancer and want to understand whether radiation, transoral laser microsurgery (TLM), or TORS gives the best voice outcome
- You've had radiation or chemoradiation for laryngeal cancer and your voice has deteriorated — you want to know what can still be done
- You've had a total laryngectomy and want to discuss voice prosthesis (TEP), electrolarynx, or oesophageal speech options
- You have recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) and need a long-term management plan
- Your child has a voice problem, laryngeal web, or subglottic stenosis and you want a paediatric laryngology opinion
What Dr. Vidhyadharan will review
- Videolaryngoscopy and stroboscopy recordings (if available)
- Biopsy and pathology reports — including dysplasia grading
- CT, MRI or PET-CT imaging of the larynx and neck
- Prior operative notes, radiation plans, and voice therapy records
- Audio samples of your voice — current and pre-treatment where possible
- Voice Handicap Index (VHI) or similar patient-reported outcome measures if completed
- Any pulmonary function tests or airway assessments relevant to your case
What you'll receive
- A careful 30–45 minute video consultation focused on voice, larynx and airway
- A plain-language explanation of your diagnosis and what's driving your voice symptoms
- A discussion of all reasonable options — observation, voice therapy, office-based procedures, microsurgery, laser, radiation, TORS
- Honest input on expected voice outcomes for each option, including realistic recovery timelines
- Advice on which additional tests (stroboscopy, EMG, acoustic analysis) may be worth requesting
- A written summary you can share with your local ENT, laryngologist or speech-language pathologist
- Guidance on whether laryngology treatment at a high-volume centre in India is a reasonable option
A note from Dr. Vidhyadharan
“The larynx is a small, unforgiving organ. A 2-millimetre difference in where a surgeon cuts — or whether a radiation field includes the anterior commissure — can be the difference between a near-normal voice and a permanently altered one. For voice disorders, a second opinion is not a luxury. It's often the thing that preserves how you sound for the rest of your life.”
— Dr. Vidhyadharan Sivakumar
What an international patient said
“I was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer and treated at THANC Hospital under Dr. Vidhyadharan's care. The compassion of the entire team and the clarity of every step gave me hope through the most difficult phase of my life.”
Mr. Balasamy
Vocal Cord Cancer Survivor
Frequently asked questions
For T1a glottic cancers, oncological outcomes are broadly equivalent between radiation and TLM in experienced hands. Voice outcomes depend on tumor location, extent, anterior commissure involvement, and surgeon experience. For very small, well-defined T1a lesions, TLM often preserves voice as well or better than radiation — and leaves radiation available as a future option. Dr. Vidhyadharan will review your scope findings and imaging to give you an honest assessment of what your specific tumor will allow.