Speech patterns following partial glossectomy for small tumors of the tongue

To determine the type and extent of speech impairment to be expected following partial glossectomy, pre- and postoperative speech evaluations were performed on 10 patients undergoing surgery for carcinomas of the mobile tongue less than 3 cm in size. In addition, audiotapes of standardized speech samples were made at each evaluation. Preoperative speech evaluation revealed normal rates of verbal diadochokinesis without distortion in all 10 patients. Phonologic analysis was also normal in 9 of these patients. Postoperative evaluation revealed normal rates of verbal diadochokinesis in 6 patients and mild lingual distortion in 4. At 3 weeks postoperatively 1 patient had sibilant distortion and 1 patient overall slurring of speech. Evaluation of both of these patients at 6 months revealed that speech had returned to normal. Blinded comparison of the pre- and postoperative audiotapes revealed no change in 8 patients. In 2 patients the early postoperative tape was thought to "sound different" but the final postoperative tapes in all patients were judged to be normal. This study demonstrates that partial glossectomy for early carcinomas of the tongue can be performed with minimal, if any, permanent speech impairment.