Reiter R, et al. - In this retrospective review, researchers assessed clinicopathological factors predicting the recovery of unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVP) in patients following thyroid gland surgery. Additionally, voice quality has been evaluated in these patients. For this investigation, they studied the charts and videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS) examinations of 84 consecutive patients with a complete UVP after surgery of the thyroid gland. Study participants were divided into two groups: patients who fully recovered from vocal fold paralysis and those who failed to recover after a follow-up of twelve months. Among other things, voice quality has been analyzed by determining the Voice Handicap Index. It was noted that the UVP fully recovered in 52 of 84 patients. The associated factors for a complete recovery of nerve function were positive mucosal waves on the paralyzed side, a minimal glottic gap <3 mm seen at the first postoperative VLS, age ≤50 years, and surgery duration ≤120 minutes. Findings suggested that early intervention can be beneficial for patients with poor UVP prognosis. It would, therefore, be a valuable tool to predict factors for a full recovery of vocal fold motion. In the cohort, the above-mentioned parameters could have been used to predict about 60% of recoveries. In 90% of cases, good voice quality was achieved independently.