JULIE ANDREWS MAY SING SOUND OF MUSIC

Sound Of Music icon Julie Andrews is hoping an innovative new throat treatment will help her sing once again, after an operation allegedly damaged her famous voice. Julie whose voice once spanned four octaves, underwent surgery in 1997 to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat. The operation left her unable to sing and she filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctors at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. The case was settled out of court in 2000. The 74-year-old's voice coach, Dr Steven Zeitels, has been collaborating with chemical engineer Professor Robert Langer, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a hope to find a cure. Langer has made a medical breakthrough which could help give Andrews her voice back, by injecting man-made gel into her vocal cords to restore their elasticity. Professor Langer reveals the treatment could be made available within two years: "So far the animal trials have been promising. It appears safe in animals. We hope we can start a clinical trial on this gel in a year or two. I don't want to promise we'll do it on Julie Andrews but she has been a big proponent of it. She has been a great supporter. She came into our office and explained that she cannot hold a note because of scarring."
Photo By: Sara De Boer/Retna