Introduction: Benign lesions of the larynx are commonly seen and can frequently produce dysphonia as a characteristic signal. More than 50% of patients with a benign laryngeal alteration presents a vocal complain. There are few available studies on the real incidence of these lesions; being usually reports on microsurgical findings during laryngeal direct intervention. Aim: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of non-neoplasic benign lesions, in patients with vocal complains, seen at the "Hospital do Servidor Público do Estado de São Paulo - Francisco Morato de Oliveira", during a one year period, from March 1999 to March 2000. Study design: Retrospective no randomized. Material and method: The parameters considered for the analysis were sex, age, type of lesion (isolated or in association with other findings), type of glottic closure and presence of suggestive signs of GER. 1093 videolaryngoscopic examinations, from patients with vocal complains, without stroboscopy, were considered for the analysis, being 131 examinations from male patients and 962 from female patients, age distribution from 4 to 80 years-old, mean age of 42.5 years. Results: 13 different laryngeal pathologies were identified: vocal fold cyst 24%; Reinke’s edema 10%; vocal fold sulcus 10%; vocal fold nodules 8%; nodular lesion 8%; polyps 7%; vasculodysgenesy 4%; vocal fold paralysis 3%; laryngitis 3%; leukoplaquia 2%; granulomma 2%; anterior microweb 1%; mucosal bridge <1%. Normal evaluation was achieved by 18% of patients. This study also describes the distribution of the 1093 cases according to age, sex and other studied parameters.
dysphonia; incidence; larynx
