Acoustic characteristics of voice production after Staffieri's surgical reconstructive procedure

Selected phonatory variables for two laryngeal cancer patients were studied before and after total laryngectomy with reconstruction designed to restore phonation. Each subject performed five speaking tasks while simultaneous pneumographic and voice recordings were obtained. Measures of sound pressure level, fundamental frequency, vowel formant structure, frequency range, words per minute, maximum phonation time, and syllables per breath were compared pre- and post-operatively. Results indicate that for the post-surgical condition there was a reduction in intensity, frequency, and temporal measures for the two subjects studied. Results are analyzed and discussed in relation to variation within subjects and between subjects, and by comparison with the acoustic parameters of normal and esophageal talkers.