Laryngeal Papillomatosis - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

A doctor may diagnose laryngeal papillomatosis by placing a mirror into a patient's mouth to reflect light onto the vocal cords and examining the larynx. More often, a doctor or a trained speech-language pathologist diagnoses laryngeal papillomatosis by an indirect laryngoscopy in the office. This procedure involves the placement of a flexible, fiber optic camera through the patient's nose to view the vocal folds in the throat or the use of a straight, rigid camera placed through the mouth to view the vocal folds.

The most accurate way to diagnose laryngeal papillomatosis is for a biopsy to be conducted and for the lesion to be tested for HPV. This procedure takes place in an operating room with the patient under general anesthesia. This is sometimes the best option for small children. This disease is most often misdiagnosed as asthma, croup, or chronic bronchitis. The consequences may be serious, as papillomas are at least partially obstructing the airway to cause these symptoms and should be removed immediately.