The present invention provides a method for corrective surgery in a human subject of a vocal cord defect being amenable to rectification by the augmentation of tissue subjacent to the vocal cord defect comprising the steps of: a) retrieving a plurality of viable cells from the subject; b) culturing the viable cells in vitro; and c) placing an effective volume of the in vitro cultured cells into a tissue of the subject, the tissue being located in a position subjacent to the vocal cord defect to be rectified. The present invention further provides a method for corrective surgery in a human subject of a vocal cord defect being amenable to rectification by the augmentation of tissue subjacent to the vocal cord defect comprising the steps of: a) retrieving a plurality of viable cells from the subject; b) culturing the cells in vitro in a culture vessel for a time sufficient for the cells to produce extracellular matrix; c) separating the extracellular matrix produced by the cells from the culture vessel; d) collecting the extracellular matrix; and e) placing the collected extracellular matrix into a tissue subjacent to the vocal cord defect.