Quality of life and depression in patients undergoing total and partial laryngectomy.
OBJECTIVE
The surgical treatment of head and neck cancer, primarily laryngeal cancer, causes sequelae and can change the patient's quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of laryngectomy on the quality of life regarding the functional, physical, psychological, and social aspects.


METHODS
Fourteen patients underwent total laryngectomy and 16 underwent vertical partial laryngectomy. The Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and Head and Neck (H&N35) questionnaire from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) were used for quality of life evaluation, while the Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire was used for the depression screen.


RESULTS
In the total laryngectomy group, reported adverse effects were worsened, social and emotional function (21.3%), olfaction and taste changes (85.6%), cough (71.3%), speech difficulty (100%), and dysphagia (64.3%). Most of the patients (85.5%) judged their quality of life to be reasonable. In the partial laryngectomy group, reported adverse effects were worsened, emotional function (71.4%), speech difficulty (100%), and dysphagia (31.3%). However, most of the patients judged their quality of life to be above the general average.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite being different surgeries, both groups experienced similar difficulties but at different levels. The quality of life was judged worse in the patients who underwent total laryngectomy.
Braz
Daniella Scalet Amorin
DS
Santos Metropolitan University, Santos, SP, Brazil.
Ribas
Marta Maria
MM
Dedivitis
Rogério Aparecido
RA
Nishimoto
Inês N
IN
Barros
Ana Paula Brandão
AP
D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D007825:Laryngectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires