[A clinical study of Reinke's edema].

Reinke's oedema is a benign disorder of the larynx. This pathological condition involving vocal cords is most often seen in middle-aged smokers, and has a female predilection. The results of videostroboscopic and acoustic examination of 160 persons with Reinke's edema were presented. The original method for voice analysis was used. The authors present their procedure and examine indications for surgery, surgical technique, postoperative follow-up and results obtained in different stages of diseases. The diagnosis and conservative as well as surgical treatment modalities are discussed. Important role of smoking cessation for long term treatment results was emphasized. This work indicates that by means of microsurgery we can obtain very good voice improvement in almost all cases of Reinke's edema.