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Secondary Tracheoesophageal Puncture After Laryngectomy Increases Complications With Shunt and Voice Prosthesis
Claudia Scherl1, Julia Kauffels1, Anne Schützenberger1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Erlangen, Nuremberg, Germany.
Objectives/Hypothesis:
To evaluate the demographics, clinical features, management, and prognostic indicators of tracheoesophageal puncture complications in patients undergoing placement of voice prosthesis following cancer treatment.
Study Design:
Retrospective analysis.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis was conducted of cases from a tertiary referral center diagnosed between 1996 and 2015. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) and voice prostheses-complication-free survival (TEP/VP-CFS).
Results:
One hundred fourteen cases were identified. Most patients were males (92.9%) with pT3 (26.8%) or pT4 (58.1%) N+ (53.6%) tumors. All patients received laryngectomy as the primary treatment, with 75% of patients receiving adjuvant radiation therapy or chemoradiotherapy. Complications with TEP were common (65.2%). The most frequent problem was salivary leakage (50.0%), which at the same time was the most common reason for changing the prosthesis. On univariate regression analysis, prosthesis placement time after adjuvant radiotherapy (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2-8.69), secondary prosthesis placement after primary surgery (HR: 3.97, 95% CI: 1.99-7.9), and laryngectomy with flap reconstruction (HR: 1.96, 95% CI: 0.99-3.89) were significant prognosticators for complications. Multivariate regression analysis revealed secondary prosthesis placement after adjuvant radiotherapy (HR: 3.66, 95% CI: 1.39-9.68) or after primary surgery (HR: 2.57, 95% CI: 0.92-7.2) to be the strongest predictors of reduced TEP/VP-CFS.
Conclusions:
Secondary prosthesis placement after primary surgery, placement after previous irradiation, and laryngectomy with flap reconstruction are predictors of poor TEP/VP-CFS. Planned adjuvant radiotherapy is not a contraindication for TEP with prosthetic placement, but it is very important to place the prosthesis during the primary surgery or at least before scheduled radiotherapy.
Level Of Evidence:
4 Laryngoscope, 2020.
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