Cancer patient's joy on regaining the sound of his voice

A cancer patient has regained the sound of his voice after becoming the first person at Medway to undergo a surgical procedure to inject an implant into his paralysed vocal cord under a local anaesthetic.

Peter Pugh-Cook’s voice was reduced to a whisper back in February after his left vocal cord was paralysed due to a tumour pressing on a nerve.

But on Tuesday 25 July Peter, who has advanced lung cancer, was able to hear his own voice again less than two hours after his vocal cord was injected with an implant while he was awake.

Consultant Otolaryngologist, Head and Neck Surgeon Manuel Oyarzabal, who works for the Trust, had only carried out the procedure known as Laryngeal Medialisation Injection (LMI) at Medway Maritime Hospital, on patients while they were asleep. But after hearing Mr Pugh-Cook had been assessed as not being fit enough to have a general anaesthetic due to his cancer diagnosis he agreed to perform it under local anaesthesia, in line with NICE guidelines and recommendations, to help improve his quality of life.

“I kept talking to myself while I was on the ward and each time my voice was getting louder and louder. I just kept thinking to myself ‘is this really happening?’

“Life was pretty intolerable when all I could do was whisper. People struggled to hear me on the phone unless they turned the volume up their end and at times when I went shopping, if I needed assistance I often had to whisper into the person’s ears so they could understand what I was saying. I’m so happy I have my voice back again as it means I can talk properly to my son and daughter and my two grandchildren. I’m extremely grateful to Mr Oyarzabal.”

Others are set to benefit from the procedure as it is now being offered as new service to patients under the care of the Trust who have developed vocal cord paralysis as a result of primary or metastatic cancer in the lung, mediastinum or neck who are deemed unfit to undergo a general anaesthetic. It will also be available for suitable non-cancer patients.

Mr Oyarzabal said: “I am absolutely delighted that we were able to help Mr Pugh-Cook regain the sound of his voice again.

“As a result, I’m pleased to say that we are now offering the procedure as a new service through our outpatients Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) voice clinic.

“There is plenty of evidence available to suggest that by carrying out this procedure early – even in the case of incomplete paralysis or muscle weakness – coupled with speech and language therapy, leads to a more favourable functional outcome for the patient which is why clinically suitable patients will have the procedure carried out within two weeks of being referred to the service by our respiratory, lung cancer and oncology teams.”

Jayne Black, the Trust’s Chief Executive, said: “It is thanks to Mr Oyarzabal and his team that we are now able to offer patients who are not able to talk and unable to have a general anaesthetic, a treatment that will allow them to find their voice again using local anaesthetic.

“It will have an enormous positive impact on the quality of life for this group of patients and will no doubt provide comfort to their families. In turn it also means that patients who need this procedure to be done under local anaesthetic won’t have to travel long distances to access the service offered by other Trusts or have to wait a long time for an appointment – time that some patients may sadly not have.”