A 20yo pop star singer complains of inability to raise the pitch of her voice. She attributes this to
the thyroid surgery she underwent a few months back. What is the most likely dx?
a. Thyroid storm
b. Bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury
c. Unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury
d. External laryngeal nerve injury
e. Thyroid cyst
Ans. The key is D. External laryngeal nerve injury. [External laryngeal nerve functions to tense the vocal
cords by activating the cricothyroid muscle, increasing pitch].