title: Postlaryngectomy voice restoration using a voice prosthesis: a single institution's ten-year experience.
abstract: We describe the speech rehabilitation outcome of patients treated with total laryngectomy or total laryngopharyngectomy and insertion of Provox voice prostheses (Atos Medical AB, Hörby, Sweden) at the Helsinki University Central Hospital. We performed a retrospective chart review of 95 patients (88 men and 7 women; mean age, 63.5 years) who underwent insertion of a voice prosthesis in the period 1992 to 2002. Eighty-one percent (77/95) of the patients underwent a primary prosthesis insertion at the time of laryngectomy. A head and neck surgeon, a laryngologist, and a speech therapist rated the long-term tracheoesophageal speech of 78% (74/95) of the patients as good or average. The main causes for replacement of the device were obstruction, leakage or inadequate size of the prosthesis, and granulation or leakage around the fistula. According to our 10-year experience, use of the Provox prosthesis is an effective method of postlaryngectomy voice rehabilitation, and it continues to be our preferred method of voice restoration in the majority of cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Antti A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mäkitie
authors.forename: Riina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Niemensivu
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Juvas
authors.forename: Leena-Maija
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Aaltonen
authors.forename: Leif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bäck
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020878:Device Removal; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007825:Laryngectomy / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D007831:Larynx, Artificial; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010611:Pharyngectomy / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012189:Retrospective Studies