Editing Adam's apple (section)

==Society and Western culture==

[[File:Cross_section_of_thyroid_cartilage_before_and_after_laryngoplasty_at_9.11.34_PM.png|thumb|260px|right|A diagram demonstrating a general outline of the [[feminization laryngoplasty]] (FemLar) surgical technique using a top-down horizontal cross section of the larynx.  The area labeled "front" in each image is the Adam's Apple/Laryngeal Prominence.  In a [[tracheal shave]], superficial tissue at the front of the larynx is dissected and the general shape of the larynx's interior, along with the underlying vocal cords, are otherwise unaffected.  In feminization laryngoplasty, the Adam's Apple is moved back even further by modifying the underlying vocal cords as well, and the voice and interior of the larynx are also affected.]]

While both men and women can possess an Adam's apple, the larger frequency of its appearance in men has led to the perception of the Adam's apple as an indicator of [[masculinity]]. As such, [[trans woman|transgender women]] may choose to undergo cosmetic surgery to remove it from their necks, a process known as [[chondrolaryngoplasty]], or colloquially as a "tracheal shave".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=UCLA surgeons develop new technique to reduce Adam's apple without neck scar |url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/surgery-removes-adams-apple-without-scar |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=UCLA |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Trans man|Transgender men]] may choose to augment and thereby enlarge the Adam's apple, a process known as masculinization.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Deschamps-Braly |first1=Jordan C. |last2=Sacher |first2=Caitlin L. |last3=Fick |first3=Jennifer |last4=Ousterhout |first4=Douglas K. |date=April 2017 |title=First Female-to-Male Facial Confirmation Surgery with Description of a New Procedure for Masculinization of the Thyroid Cartilage (Adam's Apple) |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28350659/ |journal=Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery |volume=139 |issue=4 |pages=883e–887e |doi=10.1097/PRS.0000000000003185 |issn=1529-4242 |pmid=28350659|s2cid=25766890 }}</ref>

Chondrolaryngoplasty surgery is effective, and studies done by surgeons in Tel Aviv and Los Angeles have demonstrated complications to be few and, if present, transient.<ref name="pmid2385664">{{cite journal |vauthors =Wolfort FG, Dejerine ES, Ramos DJ, Parry RG |title=Chondrolaryngoplasty for appearance |journal=Plast. Reconstr. Surg. |volume=86 |issue=3 |pages=464–9; discussion 470 |year=1990 |pmid=2385664 |doi=10.1097/00006534-199009000-00012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=How a New Scarless Surgery Could Affect Transgender Patients |url=https://time.com/5603828/transgender-scarless-adams-apple-surgery/ |access-date=2023-01-02 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

There is also an additional surgery available, [[feminization laryngoplasty]], also known as "FemLar", which can safely reduce the Adam’s Apple to an extent greater than that which can be accomplished by a tracheal shave, given it explicitly operates on the vocal cords within the Adam's apple as opposed to avoiding them. However, feminization laryngoplasty is a [[reconstructive surgery]] that carries additional risks and has a very strong feminizing effect on the voice that may or may not be desirable to the patient.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Hyung-Tae |title=Vocal Feminization for Transgender Women: Current Strategies and Patient Perspectives |journal=International Journal of General Medicine |date=2020 |volume=13 |pages=43–52 |publisher=NIH |doi=10.2147/IJGM.S205102 |pmid=32104050 |pmc=7024865 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=James Philip |title=Feminization Laryngoplasty - A Comprehensive Approach to Reducing the Size of the Larynx and Pharynx |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35750518/ |journal=Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America |date=2022 |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=739–748 |publisher=NIH |doi=10.1016/j.otc.2022.05.002 |pmid=35750518 |s2cid=249934885 |access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=James Philip |title=Feminization Laryngoplasty - Surgical Creation of a Feminine Voice |url=https://www.voicedoctor.net/system/files/2022-11/FemLar%20handout%202022-11.pdf |website=VoxDoc |publisher=James Philip Thomas |access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref> There are also far fewer practitioners who are known to be currently performing FemLar as it is far newer than the tracheal shave procedure.