GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - This vital organ, located in the throat behind the “Adam's apple”, is essential for breathing and swallowing as well as for the production of voice.
Dilys Jones, George speech-language therapist, writes about the ordeal of George resident, Melanie van der Merwe, who is someone who has first-hand understanding of the importance of the voice box.
In 2015, she underwent surgery to remove her thyroid gland because of a cancerous tumour. The surgery was successful, but the nerves controlling the vocal cords in the larynx were unfortunately damaged.
As a result, her vocal cords could close to produce some voice, but not open properly to allow good breathing. In the early days after her surgery, she had no voice and battled to swallow.
This gradually improved but her breathing became increasingly difficult. This culminated in her being admitted to the intensive care unit to be placed on a ventilator for a short time and it was thought that she would need a permanent tracheostomy – a surgical opening of the airway directly from the outside of the neck.
Eventually in 2021 she was referred to a laryngologist (an ENT surgeon specialising in the treatment of voice and larynx disorders) in Johannesburg. There she was offered the option of having part of one of her vocal cords removed in order to create a bigger airway.
Read more on sister publication, George Herald
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