A new prosthesis for voice rehabilitation after laryngectomy

Summary Since the first laryngectomy, several surgical and prosthetic techniques have been developed in order to restore voice. Problems encountered with these techniques include: Leakage through the tracheoesophageal fistula, spontaneous closure of the fistula, dislodgement of the prosthesis, and the use of adhesives for fixation. We now introduce a new silicone voice prosthesis that overcomes these problems. The prosthesis is easily inserted as a one-stage procedure during total laryngectomy. Successful acquisition of voice was achieved in 30 of 33 patients, irrespective of preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy. Average device life proved to be approximately 100 days. The high rate of success with minimal morbidity merits further investigation of this one-stage voice rehabilitation technique.