Reconstruction of the laryngopharynx

• Main Authors: Patel Daxesh, Kuriakose Moni, Iyer Subramania
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. 2007-12-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
• Subjects: Laryngopharyngeal cancers; laryngopharynx reconstruction; post laryngectomy speech rehabilitation
• Online Access: http://www.ijps.org/article.asp?issn=0970-0358;year=2007;volume=40;issue=12;spage=44;epage=51;aulast=Patel

Defects in the laryngopharynx following surgical excision of the tumors can be involving either part or full of the circumference of the lumen. The methods of reconstruction use skin or mucosal lined surface, which have their own merits and demerits. Advent of free flaps have given the surgeon choice of multiple flaps which could take their place instead of a gastric pull up which entails mediastinal dissection. The article reviews the methods available and discusses the relative merits and indications of these, in partial and full lumen reconstruction of the laryngopharynx. Loss of the capacity to speak is a grave morbidity associated with these procedures and there have been significant advances in the rehabilitation of speech after laryngectomy. The current status of the methods of speech rehabilitation is discussed in detail. The reader will at the end, be presented with an algorithmic approach to choose the method of reconstruction depending on the size and site of the defect, as practiced the authors′ service.