Enteral nutrition following total laryngectomy

Body composition was measured in patients who underwent total laryngectomy for carcinoma and who were enterally fed throughout the postoperative period with full liquid artificial mixtures. The intestinal complications were very mild and required no changes in the nutritional program. Body sector sizes remained essentially unchanged until the end of the support, malnutrition did not occur and the postoperative local infection rate was very low. On the contrary, in patients fed with blenderized food, the amount of enteral infusion had to be reduced because of poor tolerance or abdominal discomfort; in this case caloric intake was largely inadequate. Fall in BW and BCM size and increase of TBNa/TBK ratio demonstrated a postoperative impairment of the nutritional status. Furthermore, the postoperative infection rate, the number of days with fever and the length of antibioticotherapy were higher than those observed in patients fed with full liquid mixtures.