How does everyone feel about voice surgery? I'm thinking of giving it a try since I'm have much difficulty with developing it, even with help

 

it works for some but still in conjunction with vocal therapy. But ofc risky.

I know of one poster here who says they had good results

I was researching the very thing on the internet. Don't remember where I found it but it is not highly reccomended. Apparently modifying the vocal chords can be very dangerous. But, any surgery of any type can be potentially fatal. That's why I've never been circumsized. Only joking. It just didn't happen.

I have heard that it is very risky.

I met one woman who had vocal surgery an she was barely able to speak above a whisper.  She was hoping to have another surgery to return her voice.  She was very disappointed with what she had done.

Think very hard before taking this step.  Voice training is easier and non harmful, though it does take practice.

-Sandy

One word:

DON'T.

With surgery or without you need to work on your voice. Surgery is not an easy way out even if you have the money.

This is one instance where it truly should be taken as a last resort. This is not breast augmentation or a nose job. If this doesn't work your voice will NEVER be the same. Besides you STILL have to work on your voice.

Do what you can, try every voice guide you can, hire a vocal coach. If all else fails, THEN consider the surgery. It may finish what the other techniques failed to do, but do not count on it as it is not a fix.

QuoteExperimental and risky

I have met or spoken to 14 people in person who have had vocal cord surgery. Of these, 12 have what I consider poor results. Two have acceptable results, and of these two, one has very good results.

How unacceptable?

One woman I know sounds like slightly deeper version Minnie Mouse, or maybe Michael Jackson. On the other end of the spectrum are two women who sound like a hoarse Bea Arthur, or Marge Simpson's sisters Selma and Patty. Most don't sound much different than before surgery.

http://www.tsroadmap.com/physical/voice/voicesurg.html

My personal opinion:  If you are willing to pay thousands of dollars for this type of surgery, find a good speech therapist and learn how to train your voice instead.


tink

One friend of mine equited it to trying to tune a piano without hitting the keys. In other words it is hard to get good results.

Voice therapist is my suggestion, the one I worked with taught me to raise my voice gradually so that it not only sounds natural but it is harder to 'slip' back to the male range. In my case I couldn't speak like a guy anymore if I wanted to.

I read the article in tsroadmap and looked at the dates of the posts that were used for it . All of them are circa 1996. Have there not been any advancements in this field since 1996 ?
I also looked at the links that Kiera posted and although there seems to be only a percentage (i derive this from the case number that is stated next to the audio files http://www.voicedoctor.net/media/cases/pitch/index.html ) of the actual cases i think a lot of them , the majority , gained rather than loose .
I am having voice lessons and it is only one week that i have begun . Last night i heard for the first time a new voice and could keep it for half a minute before breaking up again . Still i would like to have the option of voice surgery open to me .
Has any girl here tried voice surgery ? If there are first hand experiences i would really like to hear them .

A close friend of mine (MtF) had the surgery and when she was released she sounded like Mickey Mouse.  It was horrible and I felt so sorry for her.

But after 6 months post-surgery it was alot better and after a year she sounds normal.  But I would not have the surgery.

I met one girl who has had it done, but she still had to take voice therapy after (other wise, the results aren't to there full potential). It's pretty risky, and it only works on making your pitch higher -- and there's a whole lot more than pitch to voice, it's the resonance, tone, the way you speak. Even if you have a lower pitch, you can still sound like a woman and even sound pretty sexy. Just look at how many people drool at Kate Moennig (Shane, from the L-Word). She's a woman and her pitch is pretty low, but she sounds like a woman still.

Also, remember that you'll probably have a lot of times where you think your voice sounds like crap but others don't. I hate my voice half of the time and I hate to hear it, but I don't have any issues from it. I'm ma'amed on the phone, and people don't question my gender in phone or person.

Either way, you have voice therapy options. There's the clinical way, the theatrical way, and also all of those tapes, exercises, etc.

good luck,

--natalie

It depends very much on the surgeon and techinique used.

Find some patients of the surgeon you are considering and ask them.

Also remember that more invasive surgeries have larger risks than less invasive voice surgeries. I think the risks are hyped up and at least some surgeons appear to have a quite high success rate.

This is all very confusing , isn't it   

There is a group on Yahoo groups called "voicets" that provides voice and speech therapy support online.  They have regular chats and provide feedback/advice to help achieve a more feminine voice.  It is free and it may be a good place to start.  Something to consider.

Good luck, Maya

Thank you  Tristan