New Delhi: Khusan Saidov, a 35-year-old man from Uzbek got his voice back after 15 years following a laser surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi.

Saidov had lost his voice due to a surgery conducted to treat hypothyroidism. He was suffering from enlargement of the thyroid gland due to hypothyroidism. He had undergone a surgery at a hospital in Uzbekistan in 2002.

The operation led to complications and damaged his airways and both the vocal cords.

Dr Ameet Kishore, senior consultant- ENT at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals said, Saidov had lost his voice as recurrent laryngeal nerves (RLN) got damaged after he underwent the surgical procedure tracheostomy. This had resulted in paralysis of the vocal cords leading to loss of speech and difficulty in breathing.

Saidov couldn't speak for almost 15 years prior to the operation that was conducted in New Delhi.

He was admitted at the Delhi hospital on July 10 and a team of doctors performed 'Kashima procedure' on him.

Speaking about the procedure, Dr Suresh Singh Naruka, senior consultant-ENT at the hospital said, that it was an endoscopic laser procedure performed for treating respiratory difficulty caused as a result of bilateral abductor vocal fold paralysis.

Dr Naruka added, "For 15 years, Saidov was breathing from a hole created in his neck. He developed bilateral vocal cord palsy. So, with the 'Kashima procedure' (laser treatment), we created a space between the vocal cords to restore normal breathing pattern with normal voice. The hole in the neck was closed in the second stage of the surgery."