What Are Throat Polyps?

Throat polyps are fleshy growths that occur in the throat that are not cancerous. They usually form on the vocal cords and have several causes.

People who overuse their voice a lot – for example, sports teachers and coaches who shout a lot very regularly, singers or stage actors – can be prone to developing polyps in the throat.

People who smoke heavily can also develop throat polyps more frequently and medical conditions such as having an over active thyroid or digestive problems that cause acid from the stomach to reflux in to the oesophagus can also predispose to polyps.

Polyps on the vocal cords can also be called by technical names, polypoid degeneration or Reinke’s oedema.

Symptoms of Throat Polyps

It is common to have throat polyps and to be completely unaware of them, particularly if they are fairly small. Some just disappear on their own, or break off and are digested. Others can grow so large they interfere with talking.

Depending on where on the vocal cords the polyps are, they can lead to more hoarse speech, or can change the pitch of the voice, making it much lower. Normally they cannot be felt – the common sensation of ‘having a lump in the throat’ is not related to vocal cord polyps.

How are Throat Polyps Detected?

Generally it is a good idea to get a doctor to check out your throat if you become hoarse or your voice changes and changes seem to be long term. Although throat polyps are benign, hoarseness can be a sign of throat cancer, which needs to be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible. It is also good for your peace of mind.

As well as taking your medical history, the doctor will also examine your throat and may perform a laryngoscopy, which involves using a throat endoscope to place a thin tube with a light and camera at the end to actually see your vocal cords in great detail.

He or she may cut off a small piece of one of the polyps to do a biopsy to confirm the polyps are not cancerous. The examination will also show exactly where the polyps are, how many they are and how big they have grown. Armed with this information, your doctor is then in a position to discuss possible treatment options with you.

Treating Throat Polyps

If your medical history indicates that the throat polyps may have been caused by smoking, you will be given smoking cessation therapy and counselling. If you overuse your voice, and the polyps have developed as a result of strain on the vocal cords, the usual treatment is to rest the voice completely. This sounds easy but, in practice, it is virtually impossible to stop talking completely. But you must try to cut out all shouting and speaking for long periods if at all possible.

If these initial treatments do not shrink the polyps, or if there are many polyps or some are particularly large, your doctor may advise surgery. This is a fairly simple operation, but it will be done under a general anaesthetic. The vocal polyps are removed one by one, and voice therapy after the operation will be required.

Long Term Effects

For most people, having a slightly altered voice is not really a problem and once the polyps have shrunk or being removed and your behaviour has changed to reduce the risk of developing further polyps, your throat should give you no further trouble with respect to polyps. However, the removal of polyps, as well as the polyps themselves can cause problems for some people. The singer, Julie Andrews, completely lost her singing voice after her vocal cord polyps were removed a few years ago. This caused her great distress as singing was an important part of her working and personal life.