The voice box cartilage has laryngeal prominence, which is known as thyroid cartilage. The cartilage protrudes outward and forms Adam's apple. The size varies from person to person. Men have more prominent Adam's apple than women because of the high testosterone, which contributes to the development of laryngeal cartilage. Weight also contributes to the appearance of Adam's apple. A thin neck and small amount of body fat have more visible laryngeal prominence when compared to people having thick neck and who weigh more.
The tracheal shave or Adam's apple shave is one of the most common procedures performed in facial feminization surgery treatment plans. The main aim of the procedure is to give neck and throat a more feminine appearance by shaving or reducing Adam's apple. In a nutshell, Tracheal Shaving is the removal of thyroid cartilage from the front of the larynx. Everyone has a small amount of cartilage to protect the vocal cords. During puberty, due to hormonal changes, this cartilage grows and forms a bump, which causes the voice to become deeper.
The procedure is suitable for transgender women or gender-expansive patients having prominent Adam's apple. Individuals seeking the procedure should have good overall health. Should have realistic expectations from the procedure and should have an optimistic mindset for the procedure. Procedure
The tracheal shave is a simple but delicate procedure. First, the surgeon will check how much cartilage he/she can remove from the larynx without damaging the vocal cords which lie beneath Adam's apple. To ensure this, a needle is placed from outside to the inside of the thyroid cartilage right up to the level the cartilage needs to be removed. With the help of an endoscope it is checked if the needle reaches the vocal cords or not. This is an accurate method for shaving Adam's apple.
The procedure is performed under general or local anesthesia. An incision of around 2 cms is made under the chin. The surgeon can hide the incision inside a crease below the chin area. From here, a small tunnel is created to get to the thyroid cartilage. The prominence and the superior border is reduced using a surgical scalpel within safe parameters. The incision is then sutured back, and the site of the incision is covered by compression dressing.
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