Vocal cord polyp

What it means

A small growth on a vocal cord that may appear as pedunculated or sessile and have varying size, shape, and color.

In severe conditions, polyps turn hemorrhagic and emerge as blood blisters on vocal cords. This occurs when collision forces, generated during the oscillatory cycle of phonation, cause microtrauma within the basement membrane of epithelium and the superficial layer of the lamina propria. Consequently, oscillation of vocal folds leads to neovascularization and hemorrhagic events within the damaged tissue. Depending on the size, position, and type of polyps, abnormal voice qualities including hoarseness, harshness, and breathiness would be different. The size of polyps varies from small to large masses, and a criterion to distinguish polyps from nodules is defined as mass bigger than 0.3 mm whereby bigger masses could be classified as polyps.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category