TRACHEOESOPHAGEAL PUNCTURE IN IRRADIATED PATIENTS

Tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) with use of a voice prosthesis is wid ely accepted as an excellent method of postlaryngectomy vocal rehabili tation. Many patients with advanced cancer require postoperative radio therapy (RT), while other cancer patients have been treated with RT as a primary treatment and come to laryngectomy for salvage. The influen ce of RT on outcome of the TEP procedure with respect to successful sp eech and potential complications has not been widely discussed. We ret rospectively reviewed 77 consecutive cases of TEP in patients who had received RT and laryngectomy for laryngeal cancer. All cases had a min imum of 6 months of follow-up. Ah 77 patients were successful in obtai ning speech with the TEP, and 75 (97%) continued to be TEP users there after. Eight patients (10%) developed complications in the course of t reatment. There was no mortality. In selected patients, TEP after RT i s a relatively safe and effective method of vocal rehabilitation.