This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on Web of Science (5)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Charles K. Oh, MD; Robert J. Meleca, MD; Mark L. Simpson, PhD; James P. Dworkin, PhD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002;128:692-697.

Objective  To describe a novel use of flexible fiberoptic endoscopy to examine the pharyngoesophageal segment, upper esophagus, and distal end of the tracheoesophageal prosthesis in patients who have undergone a total laryngectomy and a tracheoesophageal puncture.

Methods  Five patients with poor-quality or no tracheoesophageal voice were evaluated by a speech pathologist and an otolaryngologist. A flexible endoscope interfaced with a video monitoring device was introduced transnasally and passed through the pharyngoesophageal segment. Examination of the anatomical relationship between the prosthesis and the esophageal mucosa was conducted while the subjects attempted to phonate. Treatments were then initiated based on the endoscopic findings.

Conclusion  Flexible endoscopy is a safe, cost-effective, diagnostic tool for evaluating laryngectomees suffering from poor-quality tracheoesophageal voice.

From the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Mich.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?