Provox valve use for post-laryngectomy voice rehabilitation

The Provox voice prosthesis has been used in our department since September 1992 for post-laryngectomy voice rehabilitation. This prosthesis is an indwelling low-resistance tracheoesophageal valve. The cohort consisted of 28 laryngectomes with a mean follow-up time of 352 days. The average valve life before failure was 148 days. Speech intelligibility of 85 per cent was achieved for complete sentences. No major surgical problems were associated with the valve insertion or its use. Replacement of the prosthesis as an outpatient procedure was accomplished without difficulty.