At Rouen University Hospital, Professor Jean-Paul Marie repairs the voices of his patients

Vocal cords and larynx There are sensitive, delicate organs. So much so that even the slightest shock at this level can cause deformity or even loss voice. at Rouen University Hospital (Seine-Maritime). ENT Service (Otorhinolaryngology) directed by Professor Jean-Paul Marie is very popular. In France, but also internationally.

We have patients from all over the world.

It is here that the professor and his teams have developed revolutionary technology to allow better breathing and Find the “best possible sound”. After the accident.

A proven technique

This technique is “Laryngeal Reinnervation”. from Almost 40 years, the Rouen professor is working on this surgical procedure which is now proving its worth. In September 2023, he significantly contributed his expertise to the first larynx transplant in France.

Even if it is not a vital organ, a failing larynx is very disabling. “It has the vocal cords, it’s used for breathing, but most of all for speaking,” recalls Jean-Paul Marie.

We can compare it to a kind of sphincter that closes when we swallow, so that everything we eat or drink does not go into the lungs.

To open or close, the organ must use muscles, which are themselves dependent on the laryngeal nerve. “Put it like that, it sounds simple. But it’s more complicated than that. And then, we shouldn’t believe that the vocal cords vibrate like guitar strings,” warns the professor.

Actually the larynx is covered with a mucous membrane that slides the moment we want to pass air or speak. If this mucous membrane is damaged, “this can lead to dysphonia, a change in voice”.

Neighboring nerve reconnection

It is on this particular problem that the head of the ENT department of Rouen University Hospital has specialized over time. In the case of damaged mucous membranes after a violent shock or cancer, for example, there are several possible treatments:

Jean-Paul Marie first notes, “We can make a hole in the trachea, a hole in the trachea, but it’s not very elegant.” We can also palpate the affected vocal cords and the small cartilages that make them move, but this can seriously damage the voice and create false pathways (the passage of a foreign body, for example, the larynx or food in the throat). When it shouldn’t be, editor’s note). »

And finally, a third treatment, which the Rouen professor can offer “in certain cases”: Revitalize the larynx. Complex, this operation involves finding a “neighboring nerve”, so close to the larynx, and repositioning the nerve to connect it to the limb. Thus, the larynx can regain mobility, without damaging the very delicate mucous membrane.

Reconciliation between breath and voice

This solution is unfortunately only available for laryngeal paralysis in which the mucosa has not been damaged. Cancer cannot be treated this way, as the risk of recurrence is still very high. But, who knows, with scientific progress, we can imagine in the future that larynx transplantation and regeneration will be possible.

Throughout his career, Jean-Paul Marie and his teams have tried under any circumstances. improves the voice of their patients. In addition to grafts that may require regeneration techniques, there is also a wide range of accidents or illnesses that the Professor can treat, often compromising.

Cysts, trauma, external wounds… cases are very different and each time necessary Juggle between good breathing and best possible voice recovery After surgery.

What is certain is that after a period of rehabilitation, you cannot find your original voice. But the results are often spectacular and allow patients to express themselves clearly and audibly again.

He trains his colleagues in larynx regeneration

Also specializing in skull base surgery, Jean-Paul Marie has devoted a good part of his career to serving others: “I wanted to find solutions to sometimes intractable problems. »

And today, at the age of 65, he continues his research and Trains the ENT specialists of tomorrow for the techniques he developed with his colleagues. “Because it is above all teamwork. (…) and it is important to transmit it with training. »

If he had to give everyone one piece of advice, this would be it Attentive to variations in own voice : “Dysphonia (voice disorder, editor’s note) lasting more than three weeks should be considered suspicious. So a specialized ENT exam is needed to check for early stage cancer. Especially since minor vocal cord lesions are easy to treat. It is impossible to treat a very large lesion without causing damage. »

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