Laryngectomy

Laryngectomy is the removal of part or all of the larynx (partial - total laryngectomy) and is the price for saving the lives of people suffering from laryngeal cancer. It is a vital operation, but it leads to the loss of voice and a complete change in the way of breathing. The trachea is stitched to the tracheostomy, so that the mouth and the nose no longer have any contact with the lungs. The person without a larynx feels isolated, cut off from his environment and feels frustrated, thinking that everything has changed. Social rehabilitation consists of reintegrating the person into society, so that he or she does not feel worthless and broken down by depression.

THE ROLE OF THE SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST

The role of the speech therapist has to do with the pre- and post-operative condition of the patient. Before the operation the speech and language therapist will help to inform the patient about what is going to happen, what the possible ways of voice restoration will be and to make an initial assessment of the parameters related to the larynx removal. After the operation, in collaboration with the speech and language therapist, the process of learning the most appropriate, for the patient's circumstances, way of voice restoration will begin, which is esophageal speech even if there is a valve, or laryngophone in some cases, a machine that gives us an artificial voice with a mechanical timbre.

The course of speech therapy

Together with the speech therapist the patient will be able to decide correctly what will be the appropriate method of restoring his voice and start on the shortest way of learning it. In addition, he/she will play an important role in solving everyday problems concerning care and hygiene (concerning the permanent hole) after the operation. But let us describe esophageal speech in a few words below.

By esophageal speech we mean speech that will give us a voice by natural means using our natural organs and especially that will be very close to the old (pre-surgery) voice. A voice that will be used without stress-hypertension,easy to learn, understandable slow, with a moderate volume and no obvious changes in pitch. Let's not forget, the larynx may be the "generator" for the production of the voice, however, after the operation the patient can continue to speak with an alternative voice as mentioned above and with proper training together with the speech therapist, with the organs of the vocal system remaining intact after the operation as well as with the help of the air trapped in the esophagus.