TEE and lost voice

[Sharlo]

Hi.... I had my surgery 3 1/2 weeks ago. I was in the hospital for 8 days and the day before I came home they gave me a TEE and since then I have lost my voice. It's been hoarse all this time. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm starting to get a little nervous about this.

[Nancy]

Yes, it has happened to my husband. It really can irritate your vocal cords. But be gentle with your voice and speak quietly for a while, no straining your voice, speak as little as possible and it should disappear soon.

[Georgia]

Yes, I had a real problem, and it took a few weeks to get my speaking voice back to normal. They said the vocal cords were bruised.

[deezil]

I also lost my voice I had my surgery in May of this yr. I have been to see an ENT doc who said I have a paralzed vocal cord. When I first start to talk my voice sounds normal but the longer I talk the worse it gets.

[Bob M.]

Following surgery for AVR I was very hoarse. Surgery was on May 8, 2006 and to date I still get hoarse when I talk a lot. It has gotten better over the months, but it is still there. At first I had an unproductive cough to go along with it, but the cough finally went away leaving me with the hoarseness.

[Janea]

Hi, I didn't completely lose my voice but I was very hoarse and hardly sounded like myself. My kids asked me why I talked so funny. I had a very squeaky voice. I also got a TEE after surgery. I was also very, very worried because I am a singer and the thought of losing my singing voice was devestating. I couldn't sing a note (or I could, but very badly). This lasted for at least a month (the singing part got better after 6-8 weeks). Now my voice is back 100%. Just give it some time. Everything is probably still swollen in there.

[tobagotwo]

I lost much of my voice from the TEE or the intubation they did during surgery. Since both tubes are in at once, there can't be much room. It took months to get most of my voice back. It has never fully returned, and deteriorates the longer or louder I speak.

My cardiologist (not surgeon) said I could go to an ENT, but he did point out it would mean some invasive inspections and was unlikely to bring any change to the situation. I agree with him.

They do damage to the vocal chords, sometimes, and it's a shame. If I'd realized it might be an issue, I'd have entreated them before the surgery to take care with my throat.

Best wishes,

[Bob M.]

I hate to sound dumb, but what is a TEE? After surgery I needed eight units of blood. The breathing tube was left in for a lot longer than "normal". They also did an echo test for blood clots wherein they had to insert a probe down my throat beside the breathing tube; I felt it going down even though I felt little else during that time. Could that be the cause of my hoarseness?

[PJmomrunner]

Yep! TEE=transesophageal echocardiogram (an echo where they stick the transducer down your throat)

[Superbob]

I've never had a TEE, but I sympathize with those of you who have had the vocal cord problems as a result. I guess it's somewhat reassuring that the effects tend to wear off over time, but it must not be fun to deal with.

Most of us with heart "issues" might be subject to a TEE at one time or another.

So I'm wondering, are there some conditions that only a TEE will test for? In other words, if a doctor wanted to do one, would there be justification in resisting and asking that they settle for some other kind of test or just do without? Or would the only recourse be to ask that they be as gentle as possible to the vocal cords in doing the test?

[Bob M.]

Thanks for the identification of the TEE; that's what I had and it wasn't a very pleasant experience, even when I was drugged up. In answer to BionicBob's question; the TEE, at least in my case, was used to detect blood clots in the heart. Since I bled so much and they wanted to see if I had any clots; one other time they were going to use the TEE on me was when I went into atrial fibrillation last December. Since my heart went into sinus rhythm with the use of drugs, they cancelled the test. It was for the same reason, to detect clots. It is my understanding that the TEE procedure will also detect other heart defects (valves, holes, etc.). I don't know if it is the only test they can use to detect clots, but it certainly is one they seem to want to use.