Phonosurgery should lead to a better voice quality and a better quality of life. Only a few studies report outcome of phonosurgery in terms of stroboscopic, perceptual, aerodynamic, acoustic and self-rating data. The protocol as proposed by the European Laryngological Society (ELS; Dejonckere et al. in Arch Otorhinolaryngol 258:77-82, 2001) complies with this condition. A group of 47 patients who underwent phonosurgery was pre- and postoperatively assessed by means of the ELS protocol in order to evaluate postoperative outcome. Analysis of the data showed a significant improvement for all dimensions measured by stroboscopic parameters (glottic closure, mucosal wave, regularity and symmetry), perceptual voice quality (GRBAS), voice handicap index and the dysphonia severity index which represents both aerodynamic as acoustical measurements. In general, the significant improvement for a subgroup of exudative lesions of Reinke's space is more pronounced than for a subgroup with structural/congenital lesions.