David, 45, is a critical care nurse and noticed he struggled to project his voice, particularly during covid when he was wearing full face masks and protective equipment.
“When I was speaking my voice would suddenly stop, like someone had put their hand over my mouth.”
He was referred to the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Clinic at Guy’s Hospital where he’s one of the first to receive a new trial treatment involving platelet-rich plasma – or PRP.
It involves taking the plasma from his blood and then injecting it into his vocal cords, or folds. It’s a treatment that has been used for things like tendon or ligament injuries before – but not in this way.
His consultant Shiying Hey and her team have so far treated 10 patients – all reporting an improvement in their voices.
“It’s incredibly exciting to be able to offer this treatment,” she says. “It is also cheaper than the current treatments as we use the patient’s own blood and it can be longer lasting as the PRP encourages the vocal cords to regenerate and accelerates the healing process.”