I’ve been wondering how Scott is doing and whether this show will happen. There’s an article on abcnews.com about British singer Adele, who recently canceled a 10-city U.S. tour due to a hemorrhage she likened to a "black eye" on her vocal cord. The article includes a pretty good explanation from a doctor about vocal cord damage, and although the doctor’s comments made me feel somewhat hopeful, I’m not really sure what to think, because: (1) due to vocal cord problems, Adele was also forced to cancel shows last April, and she has STILL not recovered enough to sing (but it's unclear whether she has been on vocal rest the entire time), and (2) Scott has been doing this a lot longer, and I’m guessing he has abused his “instrument” a bit more than Adele has hers. Anyway, if you’re interested, here are some excerpts from the article:
The vocal cords are small folds in the windpipe that vibrate to create sound. They get nutrients from tiny blood vessels, which can rupture and leak when strained.
"When they become damaged, they typically leak and have spread under the surface—literally like a bruise," said Dr. Gaelyn Garrett, medical director of the Vanderbilt Voice Center in Nashville. "The typical scenario is, a singer will say, 'I was doing fine and then all of the sudden, in the middle of a show or a rehearsal, I had a break in my voice and couldn't sing well anymore.'"
Garrett said the blood accumulating under the surface makes it harder for the vocal cords to vibrate, causing a sudden change in the voice. Like a black eye, the bruise will heal. But recurrent damage can cause scar tissue to build up and cause a permanent change in a person's voice.
"I'll put someone on complete voice rest for a week," said Garrett, adding that "complete" means no singing and no talking. "Then I'll check them again in a week to make sure there's no recurrent bleed."
Using a tiny scope slipped down through the mouth or the nose, Garrett can see the bruise changing color and eventually disappearing.
"I'll follow it closely until it looks fairly healed—usually a couple, maybe three weeks," she said.
What causes the blood vessels feeding the vocal cords to suddenly rupture is unclear.
"I wish we knew," said Garrett. "But generally speaking, it's a fragile blood vessel."
People with recurrent hemorrhages can have the offending blood vessel surgically sealed. The remaining blood vessels will take over its job, Garrett said, and the voice can return to normal.
Although Adele's April cancellation was blamed on laryngitis, the singer wrote in her blog that she was diagnosed with a hemorrhage then, too, and ordered to rest for a month.
Garrett said anyone can suffer a vocal cord hemorrhage, but singers are more likely to notice minor voice changes.
"It can even occur after coughing, or anything that generates a lot of pressure," she said. "There are some patients that just come in with evidence of a bleed from several days ago."
Whether a person needs rest or surgery depends on whether the injury recurs and on their voice demands, Garrett said.
