Impact of tracheoesophageal puncture prosthesis airway resistance on in-vivo phonatory performance.

Substantial differences have been established among in-vitro airway resistance properties of tracheoesophageal (TE) puncture prostheses (Weinberg & Moon, 1984). In this report, the impact of these in-vitro differences on the actual, in-vivo process of TE voice production is made explicit. Variation in in-vitro airway resistance among TE puncture prostheses is shown to exert substantial effects upon in-vivo phonatory mechanism opposition to flow, aerodynamic power required to initiate and sustain TE voice production, and TE phonatory efficiency. Individuals responsible for defining TE puncture options for laryngectomized patients are encouraged to consider these effects in clinical practice.