UPMC Voice Center

Voice disorders and conditions are often signs of other medical problems.

At the UPMC Voice Center, we evaluate and treat voice disorders for both the general public and those who use their voices professionally.

Our medical experts use state-of-the-art technology to provide a wide range of services for all types of voice disorders.

Specialty Care for Voice Disorders

The Voice Center offers a combination of behavioral, medical, and surgical treatment approaches for voice problems.

• Thyroplasty, arytenoid adduction, and vocal cord augmentation to restore your voice following vocal cord paralysis.
• Vocal cord microsurgery to treat vocal cord lesions such as polyps, cysts, and scars.
• Injections of vocal cords to reduce tight, squeezed phonation and voice breaks caused by spasmodic dysphonia or essential tremor.
• Laryngeal reconstruction to repair a narrowed or injured throat or windpipe.
• Laryngeal microspot laser surgery to treat vocal cord problems such as bleeding.
• Voice therapy to rehabilitate and maximize the physiology of voice production.
• Singing voice therapy to rehabilitate the injured singing voice.

Research and Outreach

The UPMC Voice Center participates in numerous research opportunities as well as community outreach programs, including custom educational vocal health seminars.

Additional Resources

Watch Dr. Gartner-Schmidt present a TED Talk about the connections between our emotions and our voice.

From the Voice Foundation:

• Voice Reference Guide
• Voice Disorders
• Voice Anatomy & Physiology

Give to the Eye & Ear Foundation to further help ground-breaking research, education, and outreach-centered care programs.

In the News

Advancing treatments help people find their voices again
Read the article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.