Evaluation of swallowing function after supracricoid laryngectomy as a primary or salvage procedure.
The primary functional issues following conservative therapy for advanced laryngeal cancer concern swallowing. Here, we evaluated the recovery of swallowing after supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCL) in patients with primary or recurrent laryngeal cancer. We evaluated the swallowing recovery in 27 SCL patients through oropharyngoesophageal scintigraphy, and we evaluated their quality of life using EORTC questionnaires. Four patients underwent total laryngectomy during follow-up. Patients who retained their larynges were able to feed without nutritional support and without tracheostoma. The only significantly different parameter between the primary and salvage cases was the time elapsed to the removal of nasogastric/PEG tubes, which was longer in salvage cases. SCL has been demonstrated as a valuable option for primary and recurrent laryngeal cancer patients. The present data demonstrate good functional results, particularly in terms of swallowing after previous treatments and in primary settings. The combination of oropharyngoesophageal scintigraphy and questionnaires appears to be an adequate, standardizable approach to assessing swallowing function after SCL.
Institute of Otolaryngology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy. francesco.bussu.md@gmail.com.
Francesco
F
Bussu
Institute of Otolaryngology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Jacopo
J
Galli
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Venanzio
V
Valenza
Institute of Otolaryngology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Lucia
L
D'Alatri
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Daniele Antonio
DA
Pizzuto
Institute of Otolaryngology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Giovanni
G
Almadori
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro
A
Giordano
Institute of Otolaryngology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Gaetano
G
Paludetti
D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003413:Cricoid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery*; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007825:Laryngectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
Deglutition; Deglutition disorders; EORTC QLQ; Laryngeal SCC; Organ preservation; Salvage surgery; Supracricoid surgery; Swallowing scintigraphy