DOES THE LOCATION OF THE LARYNGECTOMY STOMA INFLUENCE ITS ULTIMATE SIZE

The stoma following laryngectomy may be placed either within the incis ion or separately. To determine if this variation had a bearing on its ultimate size, measurements of the stoma size were carried out in 61 patients who underwent laryngectomy by one of these methods. It was fo und that the stoma was nearly twice the size in patients in whom the s toma had been sited within the main wound and that there was a minimal need for the use of a tube or stoma button post-operatively in these patients.