Primary mode of communication for people with total laryngectomy in the UK: a cross-sectional survey

Sarah H Woodman; Roganie Govender; Kate Baker; Carol Glaister; Elizabeth A Rowe; Jane Dunton; Joanne M Patterson

doi:10.1017/S0022215124000525

Primary mode of communication for people with total laryngectomy in the UK: a cross-sectional survey

J Laryngol Otol. 2024 Apr 11:1-6. doi: 10.1017/S0022215124000525. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sarah H Woodman¹, Roganie Govender², Kate Baker³, Carol Glaister⁴, Elizabeth A Rowe⁵, Jane Dunton⁶, Joanne M Patterson⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Speech, Voice and Swallowing, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
² Consultant Clinical Academic SLT, University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, and Associate Professor, Head & Neck Academic Centre, Division of Surgery & Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK.
³ Department of Speech, Voice and Swallowing, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁴ Speech and Language Therapy Department, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK.
⁵ Speech and Language Therapy Department, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Chesterfield, UK.
⁶ Speech and Language Therapy Department, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁷ School of Health Sciences, Liverpool Head and Neck Centre, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

PMID: 38602071
DOI: 10.1017/S0022215124000525

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to report on the UK rate of surgical voice restoration usage and investigate the factors that influence its uptake.

Method: A national multicentre audit of people with total laryngectomy was completed over a six-month period (March to September 2020) in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study is a secondary analysis of the data collected, focusing on the primary communication methods used by people with total laryngectomy.

Results: Data on surgical voice restoration were available for 1196 people with total laryngectomy; a total of 852 people with total laryngectomy (71 per cent) used surgical voice restoration. Another type of communication method was used by 344 people. The factors associated with surgical voice restoration in the multiple regression analysis were sex (p = 0.003), employment (employed vs not employed, p < 0.001) and time post-laryngectomy (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: This study provides an important benchmark for the current status of surgical voice restoration usage across the UK. It found that 71 per cent of people with total laryngectomy used surgical voice restoration as their primary communication method.

Keywords: Communication; laryngectomy; surgical voice restoration; tracheoesophageal speech.