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Evaluation of swallowing function after supracricoid laryngectomy as a primary or salvage procedure

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Abstract

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.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Institute of Otolaryngology, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy

      Francesco Bussu, Jacopo Galli, Lucia D’Alatri, Giovanni Almadori & Gaetano Paludetti

    2. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy

      Venanzio Valenza, Daniele Antonio Pizzuto & Alessandro Giordano

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    1. Francesco Bussu
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    2. Jacopo Galli
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    Correspondence to Francesco Bussu.

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    Francesco Bussu and Jacopo Galli contributed equally to this work.

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    Bussu, F., Galli, J., Valenza, V. et al. Evaluation of swallowing function after supracricoid laryngectomy as a primary or salvage procedure. Dysphagia 30, 686–694 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-015-9645-y

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