Thyroplasty Type III to Lower the Vocal Pitch in Trans Men
Charlotte Bultynck, Marjan Cosyns, Guy T’Sjoen, John Van Borsel, Katrien Bonte
Abstract
About 20% of trans men do not achieve cisgender male frequencies (F 0 ≤131 Hz) after gender‐affirming hormone treatment (GAHT) with testosterone. The surgical procedure Isshiki thyroplasty type III (TPIII) is described to lower F 0 , but data on this technique in trans men are lacking. In this study, 8 trans men, unsatisfied with their voice after a minimum of 12 months of GAHT, underwent TPIII to lower F 0 at the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at Ghent University Hospital. TPIII was performed by 1 surgeon using the same method each time. Pre‐ and postoperatively, an acoustic evaluation of the voice took place. The F 0 dropped significantly from the preoperative mean of (154.60 ± 12.29) Hz to the postoperative mean of (105.37 ± 10.52) Hz ( t = 9.821, P <. 001). TPIII is an effective method for lowering the F 0 in trans men who are not satisfied with their voice after long‐term GAHT.