Pharyngocutaneous fistula after total laryngectomy: Less common with mechanical stapler closure

The aim of the study was to compare the incidences of pharyngocutaneous fistula after total laryngectomy between patients who underwent manual and mechanical suturing for pharyngoesophageal closure.

In a retrospective and prospective nonrandomized clinical study conducted at a single tertiary medical center between May 2002 and April 2009, we compared the incidence of pharyngocutaneous salivary fistula between two groups of patients after total laryngectomy. Sixty-one consecutive patients who underwent mechanical suturing with a 60-mm linear stapler (group A) were prospectively enrolled, and 121 patients who had undergone manual suturing (group B) were retrospectively reviewed.

The groups were similar in terms of age, gender, comorbidities, TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) stage, and laryngeal tumor extension. The incidence of pharyngocutaneous salivary fistula was 4.9% in group A and 19.8% in group B (p = 0.014).

Mechanical stapler closure of the pharynx after total laryngectomy was associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistula compared with manual suture in selected cases.