A well established Scottsdale, Arizona reconstructive and plastic surgeon, Dr. Toby Meltzer focuses on gender confirmation patients and the trans community. Well published in his field, Dr. Toby Meltzer coauthored the paper “Cricothyroid approximation to elevate vocal pitch in male-to-female transsexuals: results of surgery” (Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology, 2002).
The paper brought focus to pitch elevation and other voice production functional changes that enable a smooth transition to a new gender identity among transsexuals. At the time of the study, there was extremely limited data surrounding the effectiveness of various pitch-raising techniques.
The research involved gathering acoustic data from 20 post-cricothyroid approximation surgery patients that measured changes in vocal pitch before and after surgery. Areas of focus encompassed perturbation, pitch, and pitch range, with an average 22-month follow-up time.
The researchers found that fundamental frequency was elevated a half octave, while perturbation remained largely the same. In addition, pitch range upper limits rose by four semitones. This remained elevated over time, even as the lower pitch range tended to move downward toward the levels before surgery. Most patients surveyed were satisfied with the long term results, as they felt that their postoperative voices were more feminine.
Dr Toby Meltzer 