Multiple Laryngeal Polyposis; A Newly Introduced Entity: Update

Introduction: Vocal fold polyps are caused by inflammation caused by stress or irritation. Laryngeal polyp may be a single polyp or more than one polyp affecting one vocal fold or both folds, translucent to red raspberry colored mass.
Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 40 patients, 32 males and 8 females. The mean age of the patients was 33 years; with a range of 23-55 years, suffering primarily from long standing dysphonia and were diagnosed by an otolaryngologist (Flexible naso pharyngo laryngoscope after application of painless topical anesthesia and rigid endoscopy) and voice pathologist through videostroboscopic analysis. First group, 20 patients had reinke's edema. Second group, 12 patients had unilateral multiple vocal fold polyps. Third group, 8 patients had bilateral vocal fold polyps.
Results: First group Reinke's edema produces a deep, husky sounding voice, it is most commonly caused by tobacco/smoke exposure, but may also be aggravated by gastric reflux, second group, unilateral multiple or diffuse vocal fold polyps caused by intense intermittent voice use/abuse and the third group, bilateral vocal fold polyps and we found that its main etiology is abuse of voice and negligence of medical consultation for long time that leads to more trauma and development of more polyps.
Conclusion: Reinke's edema, unilateral or bilateral multiple vocal cord polyps are a group of benign pathology can be collectively known as multiple laryngeal polyposis. It is a newly mentioned terminology, introduced by authors to describe collectively a picture of appearance of more than one polyp affecting either one or both vocal folds or the picture of classic Rreinke's edema.