What should I do if I find vocal cord leukoplakia? 1.Be confident that vocal cord leukoplakia can be cured, the cancer rate of vocal cord leukoplakia is not high, and if vocal cord leukoplakia has become cancerous, it can be cured. 2.Be careful whether you want to remove vocal cord leukoplakia surgically or not. Vocal cord leukoplakia refers to the grayish white keratinized plaque on the surface of vocal cord mucosa, which is a laryngeal lesion caused by excessive proliferation and keratinization of vocal cord mucosal squamous epithelium, and can cause hoarseness, laryngeal discomfort and foreign body sensation, etc. Because some vocal cord leukoplakia has the tendency to become cancerous, it is often considered as precancerous lesion, but some vocal cord leukoplakia develops slowly and may become cancerous only after several years, and the cancer rate is about 5-15%. According to the statistics, there were 87 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia operated by Dr. Wu Haitao of Shanghai Five Gynecology Hospital, 15 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia had cancerous changes, and the cancer rate was 17%. Vocal cord leukoplakia is not easy to be completely cured, and it is also easy to recur after treatment, so it is necessary to standardize treatment. However, many hospitals and doctors tell patients that vocal cord leukoplakia is cancerous as soon as they find it, and immediately ask them to be hospitalized for surgery, so that many patients with vocal cord leukoplakia who should not be treated surgically undergo surgery. In fact, many vocal cord leukoplakia is cured by non-surgical methods in Shanghai’s five gynaecological hospitals. Therefore, after discovering vocal cord leukoplakia, you should neither take it lightly nor panic, but go to a specialist hospital or ear, nose and throat specialist and ask an experienced doctor to carefully analyze your condition and adopt a treatment method suitable for your condition to cure your vocal cord leukoplakia (personalized treatment). The following is my experience in the treatment of vocal cord leukoplakia. The etiology and pathology of vocal cord leukoplakia The etiology and pathogenesis of vocal cord leukoplakia is still unclear and may be related to smoking and chronic laryngitis, inappropriate use of voice (too much talking) and immune deficiency due to overexertion. Vocal cord leukoplakia is more common in men, and data from Shanghai Five Gynecological Hospital show that male patients account for 95,5% of vocal cord leukoplakia patients, which is related to excessive socializing, sleeping too late, excessive smoking and drinking, and excessive speaking. The pathology of vocal cord leukoplakia is mainly squamous epithelial hyperproliferation keratinization or incomplete keratinization, and local inflammation, often accompanied by squamous epithelial cell hyperplasia (atypical hyperplasia, mild, moderate, and severe atypical hyperplasia). Vocal cord leukoplakia with moderate or severe atypical hyperplasia of squamous epithelium, especially severe atypical hyperplasia, should be given high priority. Vocal cord leukoplakia symptoms and laryngoscopy The main symptom of vocal cord leukoplakia is hoarseness, which worsens with the development of lesions. Laryngoscopy may reveal a white membrane on the surface of the vocal folds or their edges, or a white hyperplastic bulge on the surface of the vocal folds, limited in extent, or spreading to the entire vocal folds, with normal vocal fold movement. If the vocal fold movement is limited, cancer may have occurred. Vocal cord white spot treatment After finding vocal cord white spot, first of all, we should self-analyze the cause of the disease and change the bad habits, which is the prerequisite for treatment. Secondly, we should listen to and analyze the doctor’s advice, and see several doctors if necessary (the same patient, different hospitals and different doctors may have different treatment opinions), and we should consider it comprehensively. The treatment principle of Shanghai Pentacameral Hospital: firstly, etiological treatment and conservative treatment; if etiological treatment and conservative treatment are ineffective, or the doctor thinks that conservative treatment will not be effective based on experience, or suspects that the white spot may have become cancerous, at this time, surgical treatment should be carried out. First of all, we should quit smoking and alcohol. Vocal cord leukoplakia, like laryngeal cancer, mainly occurs in adult males, mainly due to the stimulation of smoking and alcohol. The statistics of Shanghai Pentacameral Hospital show that 85% of vocal cord leukoplakia patients have a long-term smoking history, so after the discovery of vocal cord leukoplakia, the first thing is to quit smoking and alcohol, to eat less stimulating food, to pay attention to the vocal cord rest, do not overuse the voice (otherwise it will aggravate the inflammation of the vocal cord). In addition, the occurrence of leukoplakia is related to the decline of human immunity, so after the discovery of vocal cord leukoplakia, life should be regular, usually to combine work and rest, do not stay up late and overworked; pay attention to exercise, enhance physical fitness. Second, the vocal cord leukoplakia drug conservative treatment: Shanghai Wu Haitao clinical experience that “inflammatory leukoplakia” (leukoplakia with laryngitis, vocal cord congestion and swelling), “flat and smooth” leukoplakia (leukoplakia is thin, flat or slightly higher than the surrounding mucosa, the surface (smooth) and “thick and smooth” white spots (thicker white spots, higher than the mucosal surface, but smooth surface, no roughness and hyperplasia) can be treated with etiology and conservative treatment first. In addition to removing the cause, we can take oral anti-inflammatory and anti-swelling Chinese medicine – Xuanbai Shengxiang granules (anti-inflammatory/anti-swelling, in-hospital preparation, to be dispensed at our hospital), or 1-2 weeks of nebulizer treatment. After treatment, the inflammation of the vocal cords will be significantly reduced, and the white inflammatory white spots on the surface of the vocal cords will be reduced or disappear completely with the reduction of inflammation. Therefore, inflammatory, flat surface smooth vocal fold white spots do not need to be operated immediately. Surgery should be considered after the treatment of etiology (such as quit smoking, quit drinking, don’t talk excessively, etc.) and Chinese herbal medicine (Xuanbai Shuang Sheng granules) are ineffective according to the vocal fold white spots.