I'm going with Haben! June 10th is my surgery date. Pre-op consult on the 9th,post-op check up on the 11th. He made the most sense for the price. I'm hoping he does some computer analysis at the Pre-op. I'm hoping I can get away without the CTA. I'm deathly afraid of ending up with a Mini Mouse going! I'm a big girl (six foot, two hundred lbs), so it's probably more organic sounding if I land in the 180 to 200hz range. I will be going with the track shave at the same time for 7k including hotel, I couldn't pass that up while I was under the knife! His front office girl, Julie, was nice, professional, and answered my questions to the best of her ability. She seemed in the know on what stuff would be happening at which visits. I'm scared, excited, anxious, nervous, and hopeful all at the same time! Lol I guess I better record my before voice for y'all, huh?

Wow, congrats!  Yes, let us hear you now so we can hear you afterward for comparison. 
I am going to have an in-office consult with him in Aug (since I am driving right past his office on my way to Montreal).  Julie was very nice, like you said, and Dr. Haben was kind enough to email back an forth with me several times before I paid for the consult.  I am looking forward to reading about your impression of him and the whole experience!

That's awesome, Ainsley! Did you happen to get any additional before/after voice samples from him?

Thanks!  Kinda stoked about it....
Nothing more than what is available on his site.

Quote from: Cadence Jean on May 04, 2015, 01:48:00 PM
I'm going with Haben! June 10th is my surgery date. Pre-op consult on the 9th,post-op check up on the 11th. He made the most sense for the price. I'm hoping he does some computer analysis at the Pre-op. I'm hoping I can get away without the CTA. I'm deathly afraid of ending up with a Mini Mouse going! I'm a big girl (six foot, two hundred lbs), so it's probably more organic sounding if I land in the 180 to 200hz range. I will be going with the track shave at the same time for 7k including hotel, I couldn't pass that up while I was under the knife! His front office girl, Julie, was nice, professional, and answered my questions to the best of her ability. She seemed in the know on what stuff would be happening at which visits. I'm scared, excited, anxious, nervous, and hopeful all at the same time! Lol I guess I better record my before voice for y'all, huh?

So excited for you!  I'm hoping to undergo the procedure in the fall (when I can afford to take time away from work) and also looking only at the glottoplasty if at all possible.  I've been very impressed by his work and I wish you the best of luck in having a great result  

Here's the (in)famous Rainbow Passage in my daily speaking voice: http://vocaroo.com/i/s1sSyKAXjFcc

Here's the passage in my "relaxed" voice that I no longer use(except to freak people out! lol): http://vocaroo.com/i/s1ShlOrkxg8V

Once I'm talking again after surgery, I'll post some samples during my recovery.

TWO MORE DAYS.  SQUEEEEEEEE!

Quote from: Cadence Jean on June 08, 2015, 10:03:52 AM
TWO MORE DAYS.  SQUEEEEEEEE!

I'm really excited for you and looking forward to your updates!!

I just scheduled a consult with Dr. Haben in July, I'll be making a trip out to NYC and figured I may as well take the scenic route and make better use of my trip.

Haha! Nicely! Best wishes!

welcome to the Haben club. and you dont have to worry so much about the MM voice. thats a thing of the past when dealing with him. your voice might sound high at first. but after a week or two it starts to normalize off. im not even at my 6 month mark and i can tell you im very happy with the results

Quote from: warmbody28 on June 11, 2015, 06:40:03 PM
welcome to the Haben club. and you dont have to worry so much about the MM voice. thats a thing of the past when dealing with him. your voice might sound high at first. but after a week or two it starts to normalize off. im not even at my 6 month mark and i can tell you im very happy with the results

Yay! Yes, you sound great in what you've posted! My surgery went well. I Can't say the same for my flights with United. Needless to say, I will be lodging a complaint and never flying with them again. For a small taste, at one point we ended up in Charlotte, North Carolina with our third cancellation for a connecting flight to our destination during this trip. THIRD. And we didn't find these out until getting to the airport we were connecting from! Anyway, I'm doing pretty well. Swallowing has become easier. The right side of my tongue and mouth are still numb. My right jaw joint and ear aren't hurting as bad when I eat now. I'm waiting to get my bag(since that didn't come with me during one leg of the journey home) so I can resume taking the antibiotics and steroids, etc that Dr Haben prescribed me.

Dr.  Haben himself has been awesome. So has Julie at his a office. Even tho we missed the pre-op on Tuesday during flight snafus. He rescheduled with me for Wednesday morning at his office, then we went directly to the surgery center from there. Working on getting meds called in from him now to a local pharmacy, since I don't know when my bag will get here. I really want the se antibiotics since I'm not allowed to wash my incision. I will post more as my recovery continues!

PS Already amazed at trach shave results! Even with swelling, my neck is MUCH smoother than before!! Also, he said CTA went well and for the glottoplasty,,, he achieved roughly a 45%reduction in vocal cord length! O_O Seems like a lot to me, but we discussed my body size and keeping me in the low female range. I guess time will tell! Thanks for the well wishing!

For those interested, here are the pics from surgery.

http://imgur.com/sUqBDkS

Quote from: Cadence Jean on June 12, 2015, 10:18:44 AM
Yay! Yes, you sound great in what you've posted! My surgery went well. I Can't say the same for my flights with United. Needless to say, I will be lodging a complaint and never flying with them again. For a small taste, at one point we ended up in Charlotte, North Carolina with our third cancellation for a connecting flight to our destination during this trip. THIRD. And we didn't find these out until getting to the airport we were connecting from! Anyway, I'm doing pretty well. Swallowing has become easier. The right side of my tongue and mouth are still numb. My right jaw joint and ear aren't hurting as bad when I eat now. I'm waiting to get my bag(since that didn't come with me during one leg of the journey home) so I can resume taking the antibiotics and steroids, etc that Dr Haben prescribed me.

Dr.  Haben himself has been awesome. So has Julie at his a office. Even tho we missed the pre-op on Tuesday during flight snafus. He rescheduled with me for Wednesday morning at his office, then we went directly to the surgery center from there. Working on getting meds called in from him now to a local pharmacy, since I don't know when my bag will get here. I really want the se antibiotics since I'm not allowed to wash my incision. I will post more as my recovery continues!

PS Already amazed at trach shave results! Even with swelling, my neck is MUCH smoother than before!! Also, he said CTA went well and for the glottoplasty,,, he achieved roughly a 45%reduction in vocal cord length! O_O Seems like a lot to me, but we discussed my body size and keeping me in the low female range. I guess time will tell! Thanks for the well wishing!

Sorry about the flights, but very glad that your surgery went well!  So you opted for the CTA as well? I'm still really nervous about that.  Best wishes during your recovery

Yep, I tip the triple. Dr.  Haben's reasoning seemed sound. He said CTA would give me an extra couple note increases. Also, I guess he's been doing these about fifteen years, so he knows what he's doing and has refined his technique.

Quote from: Cadence Jean on June 12, 2015, 02:52:02 PM
Yep, I tip the triple. Dr.  Haben's reasoning seemed sound. He said CTA would give me an extra couple note increases. Also, I guess he's been doing these about fifteen years, so he knows what he's doing and has refined his technique.

He definitely seems to know what he's doing.  I'm finally booked but not until the fall so I'll have some time to do more research on the CTA.  I'm not so worried about the cost, just the scar, added recovery time, and what effects it might have on my clarinet playing.  So far, the glottoplasty results sound good, but those combined with a CTA seem even better.  Anyway, congratulations on your surgery and I look forward to your updates

Cadence, I absolutely cannot wait to hear your post-op voice results! I think I might go with Dr. Haben as well. Hope you are experiencing a speedy and comfortable recovery!

Thanks, Roni! Things are going well here. The numbness in my tongue is slowly ebbing. The tip has more feeling in it. The side and back down where it connects further into my throat is still numb and a little sore. Swallowing became a bit easier yesterday, on Monday I'd get this funny kinda cartilidge "pop"(not audible, but I could feel it) when swallowing. Now that happens rarely. Must have to do with swelling. Speaking of which, I've had surprisingly little. The hollow at the base of my neck became bruised and swelled so one can't even tell it's a hollow. Lol But as for my neck itself, very little. I've forced out a couple words yesterday and today, even tho I'm a day early. They are croaky, but I can already hear the baser of the results. My pitch, with my voice relaxed, has certainly been increased!! XD I'm still taking the narcotic cough syrup on a semi-regular basis to keep my coughing down. I have environmental allergies, so I tend to have to clear my throat quite a bit and some times cough up some phlegm (pretty picture, right?). The cough syrup helps to stop the tickle that makes me cough. I've also been taking a low dose of motrin to keep the inflammation down. Really, starting yesterday, I think I'm past the worst of it and on the rebound now! tomorrow, I see my pcp to get the stitches out. And then wasn't sure if I should immediately start with silicone scar sheets or give the incision a week or so to settle a bit? Suggestions?

I should also emotion that I've been a bad girl: despite doctor's orders, I've been showering! I've been covering the surgical tape over the incision with a waterproof wound covering. Works well, except one day when it didn't completely seal. I got standing water on the incision then. I dried it really well, and ran an ionic dryer over it on the lowest setting until the tape felt dry. Doubt it's been a problem. The after care for the incision appears to be voodoo anyway: if you look up incision care for thyroid surgery, you'll see doctors prescribe all sorts of different regimens. I consider haben's no showering rule more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. I think the important thing is just not to submerse it for an extended period, and to make sure to dry it well after getting it wet!

Not sure when exactly I'll post a voice sample. Depends on how my cords feel after I croak out some sentences tomorrow.

Cadence, I am glad you are doing well! And I am still interested in your postings about this, very much.

Question:  No showering rule?  I have not heard about this.  Can you elaborate?

Sure! Haben's aftercare instructions include not showering until the stitch is removed from the neck incision. This only applies to individuals who go for the CTA and/or thyroid chondroplasty(aka trach shave), because those who opt for only the endoscopic laryngoplasty will not have an external incision. His instructions say that washing oneself is fine, but do not get the incision /dressing wet. He recommended do washing one's hair in a sink.

I'm like, ->-bleeped-<- that ->-bleeped-<-. Lol I'm ratchet when it comes to my hair. Lol also, Im' naturally blonde, so I still have facial hair to shave even after a course of laser hair removal. I used 3M "absolute waterproof" pads over the surgical tape covering my incision. They worked pretty well for keeping it dry while I had a full shower as normal.

If anybody is interested, I could scan the aftercare instructions and share them here?