About Yakubu Karagama
Specialty: Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon, with a special interest in professional voice problems, general voice disorders, swallowing disorders, airway issues, snoring, sleep apnoea, and nasal and sinus problems
Conditions seen: hoarse voice, swallowing difficulty, breathing difficulty, retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (RCPD/ inability to burp), pharyngeal pouch, spasmodic dysphonia, snoring, sleep apnoea, blocked nose, sinus infection, blocked ears, ear infection, dizziness, sore throat and tonsillitis
Tests, treatments and procedures: hypoglossal nerve stimulation for sleep apnoea, tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, minimally invasive ENT treatments using CELON technology, PRP injections for voice and throat disorders
Often consulted by patients with: a hoarse or altered voice, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, snoring or sleep apnoea, a blocked nose or blocked ears, or a persistent sore throat
Patient ages seen: all ages
Also: leads the laryngology service at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust; performed the first UK hypoglossal nerve stimulation implant cases for sleep apnoea in 2022; founder and course director of the London and Manchester Phonosurgery course; visiting Senior Lecturer at King's College London
Language: English
Mr Yakubu Karagama is a Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon at Welbeck's ENT centre in London, specialising in voice disorders, swallowing difficulties and conditions affecting the upper airway. He has particular expertise in professional voice problems affecting singers, performers and others who rely on their voice for work as well as retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (RCPD), also known as abelchia or the inability to burp, a condition he has helped to characterise through his published research. His practice covers hoarseness, spasmodic dysphonia, pharyngeal pouch, breathing difficulties, snoring and sleep apnoea, alongside general ENT conditions such as blocked nose, sinus infections, blocked ears, ear infections, dizziness, sore throat and tonsillitis.
Mr Karagama was the first surgeon in the UK to perform hypoglossal nerve stimulation implantation for obstructive sleep apnoea, pioneering the procedure in 2022. He offers this treatment at Welbeck, using an implanted device to stimulate the nerve controlling tongue movement and help keep the airway open during sleep. He also offers a range of treatments for voice, throat and airway conditions, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, minimally invasive ENT procedures using CELON technology, and tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.
Alongside his private practice, Mr Karagama leads the laryngology service at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, specialising in disorders of the voice box, swallowing and upper airway. His other clinical appointments include The Blackheath Hospital and London Bridge Hospital in London, and The Alexandra Hospital in Manchester.
Mr Karagama is actively involved in research and has authored or co-authored more than 50 publications covering voice, swallowing and airway disorders including RCPD and hypoglossal nerve stimulation for sleep apnoea.
Mr Karagama also plays an important role in surgical education as the founder and course director of the London and Manchester Phonosurgery course, which provides specialist training in voice box surgery, and a visiting Senior Lecturer at King's College London. He is regularly invited to speak at specialist laryngology conferences and training courses internationally and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, recognising his contribution to professional voice care.
Expertise
- Hoarse Voice
- Swallowing Difficulty
- Breathing Difficulty
- Retrograde Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction (RCPD)
- Pharnygeal Pouch
- Inability to Burp
- Spasmodic Dysphonia
- Snoring
- Sleep Apnoea
- Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation
- Blocked Nose
- Sinus Infection
- Blocked Ears
- Ear Infection
- Dizziness
- Sore Throat and Tonsillitis
- Professional Voice Problems
Overview
- Age of patients seen
- All ages
- Qualifications
Mr Karagama undertook postgraduate training in voice research, obtaining an MSc at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2005, awarded with merit.
Qualifications:
MSc in voice research, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (2005, merit)
- Languages spoken
- English
- Online profiles
- Research highlights
Mr Karagama is actively involved in voice, swallowing and airway research, having authored or co-authored more than 50 publications. His work has contributed to the recognition and understanding of retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (RCPD), also known as abelchia or the inability to burp. In a 2021 study, he reported that botulinum toxin injections could restore the ability to burp, with improvements continuing even after the effects of the injections had worn off. His research also includes studies of hypoglossal nerve stimulation for obstructive sleep apnoea, including an analysis of its cost-effectiveness within the NHS, alongside research into transnasal oesophagoscopy, blue laser surgery and treatments for persistent throat symptoms.
Mr Karagama has presented his research and received prizes at national and international conferences, including meetings of the North of England Otolaryngological Society, the Royal Society of Medicine and the British Association Conference of Otolaryngologists (BACO). He is regularly invited to speak at specialist laryngology conferences and has served as faculty at international training courses and meetings, including the Neurolaryngology Workshop in Jena, the Laryngeal Reinnervation course in Rouen, the Pan European Voice Conference and the Congress da FORL in São Paulo.
He is a former Secretary and current Council member of the British Laryngological Association and helped organise its first joint conference with the Union of European Phoniatricians in London in 2023. He also contributes to surgical education through the supervision of resident doctors and medical students.
Key publications:
Abelchia: inability to belch/burp—a new disorder? Retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (RCPD). European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology. 2021;278(12):5087–5091. DOI: 10.1007/s00405-021-06790-w
Breathing Synchronised Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation with Inspire for Untreated Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnoea/Hypopnoea Syndrome: A Simulated Cost-Utility Analysis from a National Health Service Perspective. PharmacoEconomics – Open. 2021;5(3):475–489. DOI: 10.1007/s41669-021-00266-7
Office-based transnasal oesophagoscopy: Evaluating the safety, efficacy and application in head and neck cancer patients. Clinical Otolaryngology. 2022;47(1):218–223. DOI: 10.1111/coa.13868
Applications of Office-Based 445 nm Blue Laser Transnasal Flexible Laser Surgery: A Case Series and Review of Practice. Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. 2021;100(1 suppl):105S–112S. DOI: 10.1177/0145561320960544
Use of proton pump inhibitors to treat persistent throat symptoms: multicentre, double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial. BMJ. 2021;372. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m4903
International conferences:
Faculty, 23rd Congress da FORL, São Paulo, Brazil (September 2024)
Faculty, 1st Helsinki Winter Laryngeal Dystonia Course, Finland (January 2024)
Organising Committee, 1st Joint Conference of the British Laryngological Association and Union of European Phoniatrics, Royal Society of Medicine, London, UK (September 2023)
18th Annual Meeting of the Middle East Academy of Otolaryngology, Dubai, UAE (May 2023)
Faculty, Neurolaryngology Workshop, Jena, Germany (November 2023)
Faculty, 9th Laryngeal Reinnervation Course, Rouen, France (November 2023)
Faculty, Neurolaryngology Workshop, Jena, Germany (November 2022)
Faculty, Pan European Voice Conference, Tallinn, Estonia (August 2022)
Faculty, 8th Laryngeal Reinnervation Course, Rouen, France (November 2022)
Faculty, Virtual Neurolaryngology Workshop, Jena, Germany (November 2021)
Faculty, 7th Laryngeal Reinnervation Course, Rouen, France (November 2021)
Faculty, 5th Laryngeal Reinnervation Course, Rouen, France (November 2019)
Faculty, Neurolaryngology Workshop, Jena, Germany (November 2019)
Speaker, Voice Istanbul Conference, Istanbul, Türkiye (September 2019)
Speaker, CEORL-HNS, Brussels, Belgium (June 2019)
Faculty, 4th Laryngeal Reinnervation Course, Rouen, France (June 2019)
Speaker, Turkish Otolaryngology Congress, Antalya, Türkiye (April 2019)
- Professional memberships
Royal College of Surgeons, England
Member and Council, British Laryngological Association
ENT UK
European Laryngological Society
International Phonosurgeon Association
Union of European Phoniatricians
British Association of Performing Arts
- Certifications and Awards
Merit, MSc in advanced voice research, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2005)
Second Prize for Best Poster Presentation, British Rhinological Society 6th Annual Meeting, London (2007)
Registrar's Prize for Best Oral Presentation, North of England Otolaryngological Society Autumn Meeting, Wakefield (2005)
Munro Black Registrar's Prize for Best Oral Presentation, Northern Deanery Otolaryngological CPD Meeting, Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle (2005)
Consultations and services
Appointments are available at 1 Welbeck Street, London W1G 0AR.
Enquire online or call 020 3653 2007.
- Self-pay available from £300
- Health insurance
- 30 mins consultation
- Self-pay available from £200
- Health insurance
- 20 mins consultation
Insurers covered
Tests & treatments
Conditions & symptoms
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Frequently asked questions
Retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (RCPD), sometimes called abelchia or 'no-burp syndrome', is a condition in which the muscle at the top of the oesophagus (gullet) doesn't relax properly to allow trapped air to escape. This prevents people from burping and can cause symptoms such as bloating, chest or abdominal discomfort, gurgling noises in the throat and excessive flatulence.
Mr Karagama has particular expertise in RCPD and has helped advance understanding of the condition through his research. In a 2021 study he demonstrated that injections of botulinum toxin (Botox) into the cricopharyngeus muscle could restore the ability to burp, with improvements often lasting beyond the effects of the injection itself. His research has helped establish RCPD as a recognisable and treatable condition. Mr Karagama can assess whether your inability to burp is caused by RCPD and recommend the most appropriate treatment for you.
Hypoglossal nerve stimulation is a surgical treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea that uses an implanted device to help keep the upper airway open during sleep. The device stimulates the nerve responsible for tongue movement in time with breathing, helping to prevent the airway from becoming blocked.
Mr Karagama performed the first hypoglossal nerve stimulation implant procedures in the UK in 2022 and has contributed to research examining the treatment's cost-effectiveness within the NHS. He can assess whether this approach may be appropriate for your sleep apnoea.
Yes. Mr Karagama specialises in voice disorders, including hoarseness, spasmodic dysphonia and problems affecting professional voice users, such as singers, actors and performers. He offers treatments including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for voice and throat disorders.
He leads the laryngology service at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and founded the London and Manchester Phonosurgery course, which trains surgeons in procedures involving the voice box. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, reflecting his specialist work with professional voice users.
Yes. Mr Karagama sees patients of all ages and treats a range of paediatric ear, nose and throat conditions, including tonsillitis, ear infections, blocked ears and sinus problems. His surgical practice also includes tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, which may be recommended for certain conditions in children as well as adults.