Laryngeal Reinnervation Versus Thyroplasty in Patients With Vocal Fold Weakness.

The purpose of this study is to help determine the most effective treatment for participants with Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis. There are currently two types of operations used to treat this condition. One operation is called thyroplasty. Doctors place a small piece of safe plastic into the side of the participant's voice box to push the weak vocal cord into a position to enable better speech and swallowing. In the other operation called laryngeal reinnervation, doctors repair the neck nerve supply to the vocal cord using parts of other unaffected nerves to enable better speech and swallowing. The investigators do not know which of these methods is better and are conducting this study to start comparing the two operations so that a larger clinical trial can be conducted in the future to tell us which operation is best.