Botox helps woman speak after 14 years

A grandmother who lost her voice 14 years ago has regained her speech after doctors injected her with Botox.

Phyllis Yates, 73, lost the ability to talk when she awoke one morning in 1993.

Doctors struggled to find the cause until last November, when they diagnosed laryngeal dystonia, a condition that causes involuntary spasms of the vocal chord.



They decided to to inject the muscles surrounding Mrs Yates' voice box with Botox, a toxin commonly used in cosmetic surgery to fill out wrinkles.

The treatment relaxed her vocal chords and gradually, after several courses, she regained the ability to speak.

Her husband, George, is delighted to hear his wife's voice again for the first time in 14 years. "It is wonderful. She always nags, but that's a woman's prerogative. I just shut my ears now," he joked.

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