{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T10:07:33Z","timestamp":1789553253573,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Benign vocal fold lesions (BVFLs) are common causes of persistent dysphonia, but recurrence estimates are influenced by lesion type, outcome definition, and follow-up. We evaluated recurrence after documented lesion resolution and explored clinical factors and surgical technique. Materials and Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of 214 adults with a first documented BVFL diagnosis between January 2022 and December 2024. Clinical records were reviewed through January 2026. Recurrence was defined as lesion reappearance after documented resolution at the initial post-treatment laryngeal assessment; persistent lesions were classified separately. Results: Follow-up was documented in 142 patients (66.4%). Initial lesion resolution was documented in 135 patients, of whom 23 developed recurrence (17.0%); 7 patients had persistent disease at the initial post-treatment assessment. No evaluated demographic or clinical factor was significantly associated with recurrence in univariate analyses. In the secondary exploratory surgical analysis, recurrence occurred in 7\/29 patients treated with cold instruments (24.1%) and 3\/27 treated with CO2 laser (11.1%; OR 2.55, 95% CI 0.58\u201311.08; Fisher exact p = 0.299). Conclusions: Documented recurrence after initial lesion resolution occurred in 17.0% of patients. The surgical technique comparison was underpowered and unadjusted and does not establish superiority of either technique. Variable follow-up and differential attrition should be considered when interpreting the recurrence proportion.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina62091779","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T09:06:37Z","timestamp":1789549597000},"page":"1779","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Recurrence of Benign Vocal Fold Lesions: Risk Factors and an Exploratory Comparison of Cold-Instrument and CO2 Laser Surgery in a Retrospective Cohort"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"62","author":[{"given":"Alexandru","family":"Vlase","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"ENT Department, Clinical Hospital \u201cC\u0103i Ferate\u201d Ia\u0219i, 700506 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3002-7530","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Octavian Dragos","family":"Palade","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"Emergency Clinical Hospital \u201cSf. Spiridon\u201d Ia\u0219i, 700111 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7412-6381","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Drago\u0219","family":"Munteanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"Internal Medicine Department, Clinical Hospital \u201cC\u0103i Ferate\u201d Ia\u0219i, 700506 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ionut Andrei","family":"Roman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"Emergency Clinical Hospital \u201cSf. Spiridon\u201d Ia\u0219i, 700111 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefan","family":"Moscalu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"ENT Department, Clinical Hospital \u201cC\u0103i Ferate\u201d Ia\u0219i, 700506 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ana Doina","family":"Roxana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Ia\u0219i, Romania"},{"name":"ENT Department, Clinical Hospital \u201cC\u0103i Ferate\u201d Ia\u0219i, 700506 Ia\u0219i, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreea","family":"Rusescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 011172 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Dorin Hociot\u0103\u201d Institute of Phonoaudiology and Functional ENT Surgery, 050751 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ruxandra Oana","family":"Aliu\u0219","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 011172 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Dorin Hociot\u0103\u201d Institute of Phonoaudiology and Functional ENT Surgery, 050751 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Catalina","family":"Voiosu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 011172 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"\u201cProf. Dr. Dorin Hociot\u0103\u201d Institute of Phonoaudiology and Functional ENT Surgery, 050751 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"S1","article-title":"Clinical Practice Guideline: Hoarseness (Dysphonia) (Update)","volume":"158","author":"Stachler","year":"2018","journal-title":"Otolaryngol. 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Otorhinolaryngol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"609","DOI":"10.1177\/000348941011900907","article-title":"Elastic fibers in Reinke\u2019s edema","volume":"119","author":"Sakae","year":"2010","journal-title":"Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"380.e11","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvoice.2016.06.012","article-title":"Are Vocal Alterations Caused by Smoking in Reinke\u2019s Edema in Women Entirely Reversible After Microsurgery and Smoking Cessation?","volume":"31","author":"Martins","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Voice"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"992","DOI":"10.1007\/s12070-019-01678-y","article-title":"A Comparison of Surgical Outcomes of Carbon Dioxide Laser Versus Conventional Cold Instrument Excision of Benign Vocal Cord Lesions","volume":"71","author":"Kumar","year":"2019","journal-title":"Indian J. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"527","DOI":"10.1007\/s00106-017-0336-x","article-title":"Narrow band imaging for evaluation of laryngeal mucosal lesions","volume":"65","author":"Davaris","year":"2017","journal-title":"HNO"}],"container-title":["Medicina"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1648-9144\/62\/9\/1779\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T09:43:47Z","timestamp":1789551827000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1648-9144\/62\/9\/1779"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"references-count":15,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["medicina62091779"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/medicina62091779","relation":{},"ISSN":["1648-9144"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1648-9144","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]}}}