Hey, I want to do a voice surgery in the next year and I know that many good surgeon are in Asia. The Problem is just that i really have enough from traveling around the whole world for every surgery and my insurance will only pay if the surgeon works in Germany.

So has somebody else done a voice surgery in Germany or do you know any Clinics with good reputation in Germany ?

Hi Fluttershy,

This is not what you asked however I'll share my experience.

I had a really deep voice and had budgeted for voice surgery with Dr. Haben or Yeson Voice, however to get me through I did vocal coaching with Andrea James (google "GenderLife"). After a month of hard work I pass on a good day, I never believed it was possible, and I get better every day.

Good luck!

xx
Samantha

I am sorry to say this but after looking at several options in Germany I came to the conclusion that the answer is "No". I could have saved about 7000 EU in surgery and travel costs if I would have found a solution to get a good surgeon in Germany do this and let insurance pay for it, but it was not an option.

There are 3 major options in Germany:

Nawka, Berlin: Does mostly glottoplasty. I talked to him and he gave the surgery a 30% success rate (with 30% of patients feeling no difference and 30% feeling the voice got worse). He also told me that I should not do the surgery if I like to sing or have to do speeches. Since doing talks is part of my job, this was not an option and the chances are too low.

Katharinenhospital, Stuttgart: Usually do CTA but also glottoplasty. I only emailed them and got not much encouraging replies. Pitch gain is described with glottoplasty to be only 40-50 Hz and the surgical pictures I saw looked like a mess of crisscrossing threads, the vocal chords were not shaped beautifully after the surgery. I cannot imagine this giving a good voice quality, but I guess it would be my best bet to get a consultation there if I really would insist on doing this in Germany. But Glottoplasty, not CTA

Dr Hofmann, Weimar: She does CTA and has a lot of patients. I heard a lot of bad reports from there  - people having hoarse voices with restricted vocal range. CTA as a technique seems generally to be inferior to glottoplasty in that it reduces vocal range and can create assymetries in the vocal fold tension. Also it can be that the effect of the surgery is not enough as it depends on your physiology how much change is possible at all. The effect can also wear off with time as the cartilage settles and thus the voice can be a bit lower after some time. Also the CTA needs an incision at the neck, which is a "tell" nowadays , while glottoplasty is invisible.

Overall, the low success rates and in my opinion lack of precision and newest techniques makes voice surgery in Germany a high risk surgery and I would not recommend it.

Thank you for the information Anjaq. I already talked to Dr. Hoffman in Weimar and also got the feeling that she herself doesn't really believe in her own surgery. What you said about glottoplasty soundes very interesting. I already have a average voice pitch of 140 Hz so another 40-50 Hz would probably be enough for me because i am very tall and an too high voice would probably not sound very authentic for me.

You did the surgery with Yeson. Which technique was used for your surgery if I'm allowed to ask ?

I also did nit found a good surgeon Germany . So I decided to go with Dr. Haben in the USA. I had surgery there in December, I choosed the triple.

Quote from: Fluttershy95 on May 15, 2016, 12:58:20 PM
Thank you for the information Anjaq. I already talked to Dr. Hoffman in Weimar and also got the feeling that she herself doesn't really believe in her own surgery.

Oh that is interesting to hear. What did she say about it?

QuoteWhat you said about glottoplasty soundes very interesting. I already have a average voice pitch of 140 Hz so another 40-50 Hz would probably be enough for me because i am very tall and an too high voice would probably not sound very authentic for me.

You did the surgery with Yeson. Which technique was used for your surgery if I'm allowed to ask ?

Glottoplasty has the advantage of actually shortening the vocal folds, which also changes the timbre of the voice somewhat. The disadvantage of glottoplasty is that you need to keep a voice rest - I would recommend 3-4 weeks even if the doctors in Germany usually only speak about one week - the healing period is somewhat longer and you have to be careful with intubations after the surgery.

However, it has to be done very carefully and with precision. If not, there can be scar tissue forming or there can be an asymmetry which both results in a hoarse and breathy voice.
To show you why I did not choose glottoplasty in Stuttgart, I present two pictures of surgery pictures - one from Stuttgart (left) and one from Yeson (right)


Additionally there are more complex differences in the technique used by Yeson compared to Stuttgart - In Stuttgart they basically do a standard Wendler Glottoplasty which is known for more than 2 decades - At Yeson they use an advanced technique that is based on that Wendler technique but gives better results. They call it VFSAAC. It looks very similar, but the placement of the stitches, the stability of the new "V"-shaped end of the vocal folds and the controlled scar tissue formation below the suture line to avoid formation of air pockets almost make sure that the voices from Yeson never come out permanently hoarse.

With all glottoplasty procedures, the pitch gain can vary. At Yeson it seems to be on average 75 Hz, but some patients get 30-40, others 100 Hz.