User:Char02/sandbox

People with a partial laryngectomy are more likely to have a higher quality of life than individuals with a total laryngectomy. People having undergone total laryngectomy have been found to be more prone to depression and anxiety, and often experience a decrease in the quality of their social life and physical health.

Voice quality, swallowing and reflux are affected in both types, with the sense of smell and taste (hyposnia/anosmia and dysgeusia) also being affected in total laryngectomies (a complaint which is given very little attention by medical professionals). Partial or total laryngectomy can lead to swallowing difficulties (known as dysphagia). Dysphagia can have a profound effect on many patients' quality of life, following surgery. Dysphagia poses challenges in eating and social involvement, often causing patients to experience increased levels of distress. This effect holds true even after the acute phase of recovery. More than half of patients who received total laryngectomy were found to experience restrictions in their food intake, specifically in what they can eat and how they can eat it. The limitations that dysphagia places on a patient's diet can negatively impact their quality of life, as it can be perceived as a form of restriction. These perceived restrictions are more commonly experienced by dysphasic laryngectomy patients compared to non-dysphasic patients. Therefore, it is important to consider swallowing difficulties in short and long-term outcomes in order for patients to uphold a higher quality of life. Often, speech-language pathologists are involved in the process of prioritizing swallowing outcomes.

People receiving voice rehabilitation report best voice quality and overall quality of life when using a voice prosthesis as compared to esophageal speech or electrolarynx. Furthermore, individuals going through non-surgical therapy report a higher quality of life than those having undergone a total laryngectomy. Lastly, it is much more difficult for those using alaryngeal speech to vary their pitch, which particularly affects the social functioning of those speaking a tonal language.

Changes to be made:


 * elaborate more on contributing factors to quality of life following laryngectomy
 * link laryngectomy with dysphagia
 * relate dysphagia as a contributing factor to reported decrease in quality of life
 * References to be used: