Laryngectomee Study: Clinical and Radiologic Correlates of Esophageal Voice

Abstract

This study reports the results of an analysis of the relationship between clinical and radiologic factors, on the one hand, and the acquisition of esophageal speech, on the other. It involved 25 laryngectomees who underwent videofluoroscopy of their pseudoglottis at least 6 months following laryngectomy. Significant correlations were found between esophageal speech performance and each of the following variables: tumor size, pseudoglottis length, pseudoglottis shape, and presence of a geometric prominence on the posterior hypopharyngeal wall. The most important is the logarithmic correlation between speech skill and pseudoglottis length. Other factors that yielded controversial results in previous studies were not found significant in this investigation.