Articulatory function in patients who have undergone glossectomy with use of an artificial graft membrane

Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate, by assessing speec h intelligibility, the long-term usefulness of an artificial bilayer membra ne as a mucosal substitute after glossectomy. Study design. Artificial membranes were grafted in 8 patients with intraora l defects after glossectomy. Five patients served as a control group and re ceived only standard closure by suture after glossectomy. Speech intelligib ility was evaluated by means of a standardized Japanese speech intelligibil ity test 6 months or more after the operation. Results. The postoperative courses of all 13 patients were uneventful. Inte lligibility scores of those who received grafts were better than those of t he control group in the overall score, the glossal sounds score, and the re ar portion sounds score. Conclusion. The artificial membrane was useful for the glossectomy as a lon g-term mucosal substitute, as well as for the short-term.