Laryngeal anesthetization for the treatment of acquired disfluency: a case study.
The subject of this case study is an adult who became severely disfluent after a motor vehicle accident in which he did not suffer significant injuries. His disfluency persisted for 4 months notwithstanding a short trial of speech therapy. Hyperfunctional phonation subsystem disturbances were identified on follow-up evaluations. Laryngeal anesthetization was achieved via a transcutaneous lidocaine injection. The patient improved dramatically within 15 min of the procedure. More than 18 months later, he has retained normal speech fluency without any additional post-injection intervention. Theoretical discussions are rendered to help interpret this treatment outcome.


OBJECTIVE
The reader will be able to describe (1) the laryngeal movements and adjustments commonly associated with stuttered speech; (2) the speech dysfunctions a patient evidenced following a motor vehicle accident; and (3) the author's treatment rationale for resolving the patient's speech disorder.
Dworkin
James Paul
JP
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
Culatta
Richard A
RA
Abkarian
G G
GG
Meleca
Robert J
RJ
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007830:Larynx / Q000187:drug effects*; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D013342:Stuttering / Q000188:drug therapy*
D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D008012:Lidocaine