The Opinions from the Alaryngeal Cliants

Abstract

Using the opportunity of Clinical Panel Discussion in the 10th Annual Meeting of Japan Society of Laryngology, all the members of Ishikawa Laryngectomee Club were asked to answer the questionnaire concerned about their quality of life, and 85 answers (73.3%) were received from 116 alaryngeal chants.
Nineteen patients were from 6 to 10 years after laryngectomy, and 17 from 10 to 15 years, 11 more than 20 years. Forty-seven patients (53.4%) could communicate with esophageal voice, using electrolarynx and 19 (21.6%) Tokyo artificial larynx (Tapia's flute).
The most serious problem of their life was related with their physical dysfunction : disability in expressing the emotion such as laughing and crying, and no sense of smell. The health problems such as catching common cold was seen in 13 patients (15.3%), and mental distress made significant effects on changing their personality. From this studies, not only the necessity to promote social welfare for such handicapped people but also to establish the technique for voice reconstruction after laryngectomy were clearly understood.