Experiences with the tracheoesophageal shunt method for vocal rehabilitation after total laryngectomy.

The tracheoesophageal (T-E) shunt technique reported by Komorn et al. (1973) was used for vocal rehabilitation in 8 laryngectomized patients including one case of hypopharyngeal cancer. It was proved that this technique was a simple one-stage procedure with a low incidence of complication. Four out of 7 patients, excluding one patient who died of another disease, acquired excellent speech without symptomatic aspiration. Two patients developed fairly good speech. One shunt was closed by aspiration. The shunt constructed by a flap measuring 2 x 4 cm, opened 1 cm below the distal end of the trachea, showed good results. The T-E shunt speech exceeds esophageal speech in duration and intelligibility.