It usually refers to removal of one or both vocal cords, often for the purpose of treating laryngeal cancer.
[3] CO2 laser cordectomy has allowed the treatment of glottic carcinoma as a day case procedure.
[4] The procedure has also been carried out by veterinarians to reduce the volume of incessant barking by dogs, where it is called debarking.
Doctors are encouraged to explore alternative communication technologies with patients (such as electrolarynxes, whisper-amplifying devices, and text-to-speech software) prior to determining the acceptability of the procedure.
Patients should be made to understand that the procedure is absolutely permanent and their vocal capacity (with current technology) will never recover to its range prior to the surgery, and patients with small percentages of cord removals will experience disproportionately severe loss of vocal range compared to the loss suffered by patients who have undergone a near-entire cordectomy procedure.