The important thing is that they don’t remove too much and damage your voice. There is a technique called “needle localization” where they use a guide or something during surgery to monitor progress and ensure they aren’t detaching your vocal cords. You don’t want a giant scar, but according to my doctor, who does vocal feminization surgery and a lot of repairs of people who had their voices damaged, attempting to use very distant incisions can increase the risk.

I had a trachea shave last year.

• Is the surgeon an ENT? I would trust an ENT over more general purpose surgeons, but it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker.
• Where is the incision made? Best practice is to place it in the fold of the neck so that it can’t be seen when looking straight-on. A scar directly over the thyroid cartilage (Adam’s apple) will be much more visible.
• What technique does the surgeon use? There are two techniques I know of: one, which is mostly done by lesser experienced surgeons, is to remove cartilage by “feel”. This runs the risk of removing too much, or not enough. Non-ENTs often use this method. The second technique involves placing a pin in the cartilage that prevents shaving off too much. This means you get the best result you can without the risk of complication.
• Did anyone observe your vocal cords using a camera down your throat before the surgery?
• If you don’t feel 100% confident in your surgeon’s abilities, ask questions until you do, and if you still don’t, find another surgeon. You really don’t want anyone inexperienced working near your vocal cords, they are very fragile and if a surgery goes wrong it could ruin your voice forever. Nothing about my surgery altered my voice.

I shared more info about my experience here: Trachea Shave with Dr. Mark Courey at Mt. Sinai, Feb 2022

Ive done tracheal shave without VFS. Surgery messed up my voice a year ago( he removed too much). I wanted to do a femlar but surgeon said she wouldnt take me after tracheal shave . You can see scars on my photos, its visible . Try to find as many reviews as you can .

Look your surgeon up in the wiki here.

Who is it?

Had it in September. Quick procedure sore throat for 2 weeks. Took pain meds the first night & that’s it. My voice hasn’t been affected . Just rest. And don’t use your voice a lot for the first week or so