This patient was a heavy smoker. Surgical removal was necessary. The surgery will improve the patient's voice and airway but will not restore the patient's voice to normal. To the right is a patient with severe vocal cord polyps. The polyps are blown above and sucked below the cords as the patient breaths.
Cysts can occur on the voice box.
The most common place is on the epiglottis or superior part of the voice box. It they enlarge they can cause airway obstruction. They are caused by chronic straining of the voice. They are often called singer's or screamer's nodules. The nodule shown in the two photographs to the right flops above and below the vocal cords as the patient talks.