Scintigraphic assessment of swallow efficiency postlaryngectomy

There have been reports of a high incidence of hypopharyngeal stenosis in total laryngectomy patients when the surgery requires a partial pharyngectomy for pyriform sinus involvement. In this study, three groups were compared: total laryngectomy patients without partial pharyngectomy, total laryngec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Laryngoscope Vol. 104; no. 9; p. 1159
Main Authors Hamlet, S L, Wilson, S, Stachler, R J, Salwen, W A, Muz, J, Heilbrun, L K
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.1994
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Combined Modality Therapy
Deglutition - physiology
Deglutition - radiation effects
Esophagus - diagnostic imaging
Esophagus - physiology
Humans
Laryngeal Neoplasms - radiotherapy
Laryngeal Neoplasms - surgery
Laryngectomy
Middle Aged
Mouth - diagnostic imaging
Mouth - physiology
Pharyngectomy - methods
Pharynx - diagnostic imaging
Pharynx - physiology
Pharynx - radiation effects
Radionuclide Imaging
Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid
Time Factors
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Summary:There have been reports of a high incidence of hypopharyngeal stenosis in total laryngectomy patients when the surgery requires a partial pharyngectomy for pyriform sinus involvement. In this study, three groups were compared: total laryngectomy patients without partial pharyngectomy, total laryngectomy patients with partial pharyngectomy, and normal controls. All patients had received radiation therapy following surgery. All were maintaining oral nutrition, and none complained of dysphagia. Patients were tested between 1 and 7 months postradiation therapy, with a mean of 3 months. Measures of swallowing efficiency were based on scintigraphic data for a liquid swallow. Patients with partial pharyngectomy had abnormally long oropharyngeal transit times and low efficiency scores. For a subgroup of patients with partial pharyngectomy, swallowing data were available postsurgery and postradiation therapy. Postsurgery this patient group did not differ significantly from normal patients in swallowing efficiency, and swallowing efficiency deteriorated in postradiation therapy. This scintigraphic methodology is shown to be a sensitive method of assessing swallowing function in this patient population.
ISSN:0023-852X
DOI:10.1288/00005537-199409000-00019