Evaluation of speech of laryngectomees after the Amatsu tracheoesophageal shunt operation.

Fourteen patients were evaluated by a number of tests to analyze the voice produced following the senior author's surgical technique for speech rehabilitation. The parameters used were sustained duration of the prolonged vowel, counting per breath, syllables per breath, words per breath, and words per minute for quantitative determination. The qualitative parameters used were pronunciation accuracy, level of intelligibility and adequacy. The results obtained were better than those of esophageal speakers and approximate laryngeal voice. A comparison of relative advantage over other rehabilitative procedures is presented.