Tracheal Shave
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A Tracheal Shave, also known as a Chondrolaryngoplasty, is a fairly straight-forward surgical procedure in which the thyroid cartilage is made smoother/smaller by shaving the cartilage through a small incision in the throat.
Surgery
Firstly, a anaesthetic is administered. Then a small incision is made below the trachea, the muscles and skin are retracted and a scalpel is used to shave the trachea down in order to reduce it's prominence. After the required amount of reduction is acheived, the incision is then closed. This procedure usually causes minimal scarring as the incision site is usually in one of the small folds in the neck.
This procedure can be performed under either local or general anaesthesia, depending on whether it is being performed on it's own or as part of other FFS or GRS surgeries. The trachea is locted close to the vocal cords, and as such there is some risk of damage to the vocal chords. During the healing phase, difficulty swallowing and speaking is not uncommon. Recovery time is generally around 2 weeks.
Voice
This procedure will have only a minimal effect on voice, if any. During the healing phase, there may be some quite obvious changes to the voice, but these are caused by swelling from the procedure. These changes will disappear as the swelling reduces. Many people choose to have this procedure done whilst having voice surgery.