Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Community Conversation => Transitioning => Voice Therapy and Surgery => Topic started by: anjaq on March 01, 2017, 02:38:43 PM

Title: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: anjaq on March 01, 2017, 02:38:43 PM
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24962228

Apparently she does a lot of voice surgeries and has developed a unique voice surgery - it is similar to that of Yeson in that she cuts the vocal chords endocopically with microscalpels, but then instead of suturing them together she injects a filler, "Radiesse" into the frontal parts, stabilizing them and at the same time fusing them together, in the days after that, they heal together at the front 40-50% and form a web. She reports pitch increase of 100 Hz due to shortening the chords by 50% instead of the usual 30-40% and she reports little hoarseness or vocal impariment.

I think she may be on to something , the Radiesse may actually strengthen the new commissure more than the previous methods.

Since I am done with voice surgery already, it is maybe up to some others who are still looking into this to look it up and determine if this is maybe a good alternative (The article is available at the "Russian Science Archive" ;) ).
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: staciM on March 01, 2017, 02:45:41 PM
Thanks for the info....I'm a scaredy–cat flyer :) and couldn't imagine going all the way to Korea for Yeson, so a closer option would be excellent.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: Paige on March 02, 2017, 05:32:54 PM
Quote from: anjaq on March 01, 2017, 02:38:43 PM
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24962228

Apparently she does a lot of voice surgeries and has developed a unique voice surgery - it is similar to that of Yeson in that she cuts the vocal chords endocopically with microscalpels, but then instead of suturing them together she injects a filler, "Radiesse" into the frontal parts, stabilizing them and at the same time fusing them together, in the days after that, they heal together at the front 40-50% and form a web. She reports pitch increase of 100 Hz due to shortening the chords by 50% instead of the usual 30-40% and she reports little hoarseness or vocal impariment.

I think she may be on to something , the Radiesse may actually strengthen the new commissure more than the previous methods.

Since I am done with voice surgery already, it is maybe up to some others who are still looking into this to look it up and determine if this is maybe a good alternative (The article is available at the "Russian Science Archive" ;) ).

Interesting the paper is from 2014, but I've never seen her mentioned here before.   Thanks for posting this.

Paige :)

Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: kwala on March 26, 2017, 02:31:06 PM
Quote from: anjaq on March 01, 2017, 02:38:43 PM
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24962228

Apparently she does a lot of voice surgeries and has developed a unique voice surgery - it is similar to that of Yeson in that she cuts the vocal chords endocopically with microscalpels, but then instead of suturing them together she injects a filler, "Radiesse" into the frontal parts, stabilizing them and at the same time fusing them together, in the days after that, they heal together at the front 40-50% and form a web. She reports pitch increase of 100 Hz due to shortening the chords by 50% instead of the usual 30-40% and she reports little hoarseness or vocal impariment.

I think she may be on to something , the Radiesse may actually strengthen the new commissure more than the previous methods.

Since I am done with voice surgery already, it is maybe up to some others who are still looking into this to look it up and determine if this is maybe a good alternative (The article is available at the "Russian Science Archive" ;) ).

An interesting theory, however, I wonder if the patients need to have injections 3-4 times per year (radiesse is a temporary filler that gets absorbed over time) or if the initial injection is just a one time part of the web formation. In any case, I'm always glad to see new approaches to voice surgery.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: anjaq on April 01, 2017, 06:35:01 AM
I think the use it mainly for the initial phase. After 3 months the web should have formed and it is not needed. Sutures that dissolve are gone after just 4-6 weeks already, so 3 months is better than that. I also saw though that Radiess is supposed to initiate some collagen formation, so it is not completely going away, but maybe some collagen and tissue is generated in the process that stabilizes the web in the long run? But I think that only would be a neat side effect.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: BrandiYYC on November 28, 2017, 03:58:18 PM
Hello, I was wondering if anyone has had any experience Dr Anderson? I am in Calgary and looking for an option in Canada. I phoned the clinic today and was told I needed a letter from my GP which I will be getting in a few days and was told the next appointments for a consultation are in March, with surgery possible by June.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: OU812 on November 29, 2017, 07:15:20 AM
I believe I've seen her mentioned on these forums before. It's an interesting idea, using a filler, but I'd have a couple concerns. One would be whether the surgeon has less control relying on a filler to hold the vocal folds together, as I'd imagine there's more precision involved with sutures than with substances that can spread throughout tissue. The second would be the fact that it sounds like she aims carte blanche for 40-50% reduction; any of the existing surgeons can go that high, but the fact that it pushes the upper limit of what can be done without ruining the voice would raise concerns about my first point regarding how much control exists with fillers vs sutures. There are also people who don't need quite so much reduction and would risk sounding unnatural with that much, so there's the question of whether her technique works at lower percent reductions.

Certainly a nice option for anyone who can get her services through the Canadian plan, though anyone with easy access to Toronto would already be within a couple hours' drive of Dr. Haben in Rochester anyway. I saw him in recent months and he did really nice work, it was a breeze.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: tgirlamg on November 29, 2017, 03:14:48 PM
Thank you for posting this Anjaq!!! 😀
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: Rachel on November 30, 2017, 06:04:11 PM
Interesting concept, thanks for posting.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: BrandiYYC on December 04, 2017, 04:46:25 PM
My Dr sent in the Referral, so hopefully I will be meeting with Dr Anderson in the spring.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: BrandiYYC on March 27, 2018, 08:24:15 PM
I met with Dr Anderson last week, and the consultation went really well. I am booked for surgery in May!
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: Paige on March 27, 2018, 10:09:55 PM
Quote from: BrandiYYC on March 27, 2018, 08:24:15 PM
I met with Dr Anderson last week, and the consultation went really well. I am booked for surgery in May!

Thanks for letting us know.  I'm very interested in how it goes.

Thanks,
Paige :)
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: Ellement_of_Freedom on March 28, 2018, 12:14:54 AM
Huh! Are there any recordings of before and afters? I wonder how the pricing compares with Yeson.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: BrandiYYC on March 28, 2018, 02:36:42 PM
I haven't seen any on the web, but I did meet her and her team which included a voice therapist. I went through a process which included a camera going through my nose into my throat and doing some voice testing. I had the process explained, and assured that she could help me find my voice.

I do need to fly to Toronto and be there the day before for a voice recording, and then day surgery the next. I then need to see her 7 days later for a follow up, and then 6-8 weeks after that. Luckily my sister lives nearby. I will be able to provide my recordings later this year.

https://www.otolaryngology.utoronto.ca/content/jennifer-anderson
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: kwala on March 28, 2018, 05:42:46 PM
Quote from: BrandiYYC on March 28, 2018, 02:36:42 PM
I haven't seen any on the web, but I did meet her and her team which included a voice therapist. I went through a process which included a camera going through my nose into my throat and doing some voice testing. I had the process explained, and assured that she could help me find my voice.

I do need to fly to Toronto and be there the day before for a voice recording, and then day surgery the next. I then need to see her 7 days later for a follow up, and then 6-8 weeks after that. Luckily my sister lives nearby. I will be able to provide my recordings later this year.

https://www.otolaryngology.utoronto.ca/content/jennifer-anderson
Thanks for sharing your story with a new doctor and a new variation on web glottoplasty. I think there is potential here. Best of luck!
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: KayXo on March 30, 2018, 04:12:44 PM
Please keep us posted. :)
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: Ellement_of_Freedom on March 30, 2018, 05:11:51 PM
Quote from: BrandiYYC on March 28, 2018, 02:36:42 PM
I haven't seen any on the web, but I did meet her and her team which included a voice therapist. I went through a process which included a camera going through my nose into my throat and doing some voice testing. I had the process explained, and assured that she could help me find my voice.

I do need to fly to Toronto and be there the day before for a voice recording, and then day surgery the next. I then need to see her 7 days later for a follow up, and then 6-8 weeks after that. Luckily my sister lives nearby. I will be able to provide my recordings later this year.

https://www.otolaryngology.utoronto.ca/content/jennifer-anderson

Is the 6-8 week follow-up appointment compulsory?
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: BrandiYYC on March 31, 2018, 10:14:55 AM
Dr Anderson did tell me that she could refer me to a Dr in Calgary for the follow up. She gave me his name but I haven't contacted him yet.
Title: Re: Jennifer A. Anderson, Toronto, Canada (article on VFS)
Post by: Ellement_of_Freedom on March 31, 2018, 04:44:06 PM
A 6-8 week follow-up appointment kinda rules her out for me due to travel.. but please let us know how everything goes.