Obturator prostheses after cancer surgery: an approach to speech outcome assessment.
OBJECTIVE
This article describes a speech assessment protocol for patients using either obturator prostheses or speech aid prostheses for surgically acquired defects due to cancer of the maxilla and/or soft palate.


METHODS
This protocol is structured according to the executive summary of "Disability in America: Toward a National Agenda For Prevention" a report formulated by the Institute of Medicine that describes four levels of disorder: (1) pathology, (2) impairment, (3) functional limitation, and (4) disability. Assessment instruments included (1) the Sentence Intelligibility Test to measure the rate and understandability of speech, (2) a speech physiology system to measure appropriate separation of the nasal/nasopharyngeal and oral compartments, (3) a 13-point interval scale to rate speech nasality, and (4) a scale to rate self-perceptions of communication effectiveness.


RESULTS
The results from two patients are reported to illustrate the outcome assessment protocol.
Mahanna
G K
GK
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA.
Beukelman
D R
DR
Marshall
J A
JA
Gaebler
C A
CA
Sullivan
M
M
D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008441:Maxillary Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010157:Palatal Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010158:Palatal Obturators; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014833:Voice Quality