Voice Care Services

Voice Center

The Ochsner Voice Center offers a multi-disciplinary approach to voice, swallowing, and airway disorders. We use state-of-the-art equipment to evaluate and treat many disorders of the larynx by implementing medical, surgical, and/or behavioral approaches individualized to each patient. Patients are evaluated by a team including a laryngologist and a speech-language pathologist with special training in voice/swallowing disorders.

Our Services

We treat patients who are having difficulties related to:

voice: hoarseness, dysphonia, voice loss, vocal fatigue, frequent throat clearing, loss of vocal range, voice breaks, vocal instability, reduced volume
airway: unresponsive or atypical asthma, problems with tracheostomy, loud breathing, persistent cough
swallowing: choking on foods/liquids, food sticking in throat, sensation of something in throat, regurgitation of undigested food

The Voice Center team consists of Jeffrey Marino, MD, Jodie Fornadley, MS CCC-SLP and Yvette Peevy, MA CCC-SLP. Our MD and SLP evaluate patients together in order to offer the most comprehensive assessment and treatment plan.

Conditions Treated

We offer comprehensive treatments for patients with the following conditions including:

Muscle tension dysphonia
Benign vocal fold lesions: nodules, cysts, polyps, granuloma, papilloma, hemorrhage
Vocal fold scarring
Vocal fold paresis/paralysis
Vocal fold atrophy
Laryngopharyngeal reflux
Reinke's edema
Laryngeal tremor
Dystonia
Spasmodic dysphonia
Leukoplakia
Chronic infectious laryngitis
Laryngeal cancer
Glottic stenosis
Subglottic stenosis
Tracheal stenosis
Bilateral vocal fold paralysis
Paradoxical vocal fold motion/vocal cord dysfunction
Zenker's diverticulum
Cricopharyngeal dysfunction
Reflux

Services Provided

Clinic setting
- Comprehensive voice evaluation including clinical and instrumental assessment
- High-definition laryngeal videostroboscopy
- Voice therapy
- Respiratory retraining therapy
- Swallowing therapy
- Evaluation of swallowing including endoscopic and radiographic assessment
Awake in-office procedures
- Laryngeal botulinum toxin injections
- Laryngeal culture
- Transnasal esophagoscopy
- Esophageal dilation
- Vocal cord injection
- Vocal cord laser treatment
- Diagnostic laryngeal EMG
Surgical management
- Vocal cord microsurgery
- Endoscopic laser surgery
- Laryngeal framework surgery including medialization laryngoplasty and thyroplasty
- Endoscopic resection of laryngeal cancers or other non-cancerous masses
- Cricopharyngeal myotomy
- Surgical treatment of Zenker's diverticulum
- Airway surgery