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Throat Polyps
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Polyps make up the most significant portion of benign laryngeal tumors. Laryngeal polyps most often occur in males in adulthood.
What causes laryngeal polyps?
The causes of polyps of the larynx are the same factors as for vocal nodules. At the beginning of the disease, dilation of the vessels and congestion occur in the submucosal glands of the larynx, localized in the places of the greatest trauma of the vocal folds, namely in the anterior third of them. After that, within the next 3 months a polyp will form on this place. Of great importance in the occurrence of laryngeal polyps are chronic inflammatory diseases of the larynx.
Pathological anatomy of a larynx polyp
Polyp of the larynx usually has the form of a single, unilateral, roundish tumor from whitish-gray to red and even bluish color, often prolapse into the glottis on the pedicle. Sometimes they take the form of a gelatinous formation similar to a nasal polyp. Small polyps have a smooth surface, large ones can have a papillary appearance. Laryngeal polyps do not belong to tumors per se, but are proliferative formations of their own vocal fold tissues, which are, in essence, inflammatory hyperplasia of these tissues. Their growth is due to the phenomenon of staza in the blood and lymphatic vessels.
Symptoms of a larynx polyp
The main symptom of a vocal fold polyp is a violation of the voice. In the initial stage, when a small polyp is firmly fixed to the vocal fold, causing an increase in its mass and a change in the frequency characteristics of the sound, a change in the tone of the voice occurs and a violation of its clarity. When a polyp of the larynx is interpositionally between the vocal folds, then the phenomenon of diplopony arises, wedging between them, then sliding upwards or downwards. With a polyp on the stem, voice disorders may be more diverse, but it is mainly hoarseness that prevails. These functional features are due to those forms of the polyp. Which are shown in the above illustrations.
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Differential diagnosis
Differential diagnosis of laryngeal polyps is carried out with malignant tumors of larynx in all cases.