A therapeutic algorithm for tracheoesophageal periprosthetic leakage

Tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis leakage can be intravalvular (more common) or periprosthetic (focus of this study). The authors studied the causes of periprosthetic leakage among 115 patients attending for voice prosthesis management (1374 clinic attendances) treated between December 2014 to December...

A novel scale for the assessment of tracheoesophageal voice quality – the SToPS

There is currently no assessment tool in widespread use that permits a valid and reliable perceptual assessment of voice quality following laryngectomy. Such a scale is needed to investigate the functional outcomes of surgical voice restoration and rehabilitation regimes. Existing...

Facial palsy: What do patients and healthcare care about?

The article describes the process for establishing a collaborative research agenda to address gaps in understanding of the diagnosis, treatment management of facial palsy. A Delphi technique was used in order to establish a facial palsy research agenda. In round...

Snap: do voice patients’ self-ratings match the professionals or the machines?

Self-rating by people with voice disorders and perceptual assessments by speech and language therapists are generally quicker and cheaper than acoustic voice analysis. Reports, with small sample sizes and mixed participant groups, on whether these measures are associated have demonstrated...

Voice impairment following spinal cord injury

Patients with cervical spinal cord injury face several clinical problems. One of the problems is voice impairment secondary to poor respiratory support. Their syllables per breath, vocal intensity and vocal quality are impaired. This paper studied the impact of the...

Surgical voice restoration after laryngopharyngectomy

Voice restoration is one of the key rehabilitative steps after laryngectomy or total laryngopharyngectomy (TLP). Patients who undergo TLP require reconstruction – increasingly commonly with microvascular free flaps. Despite their advantages in terms of fistula rates and swallowing outcomes, these...

Benefit of prolonged voice rest following phonosurgery

The recommendation for voice rest following surgery is not agreed amongst surgeons, regarding either the type of voice rest (absolute or relative) or the optimal duration. In this ongoing study, 31 elective patients operated on for benign laryngeal lesions were...

Voice issues in transgender individuals

Recently, former decathlete and TV personality, Bruce Jenner, admitted that he is transgender, thereby becoming the most famous and vocal advocate for transgender issues. Transgender refers to female to male or male to female identification. In either case, voice modification...