Complications of near-total laryngectomy - Aspiration and speaking shunt stenosis

Generally speaking, the same complications associated with total laryngectomy have been encountered after near-total laryngectomy (NTL). In addition, aspiration and speaking shunt stenosis could be the problems for the later. The purposes of this report are to investigate the possible causes of these two complications, the effects of perioperative wound infection, and the effects of postoperative irradiation on the outcome of a patient's shunt speech. This study reveals that wound infection and radiotherapy do not interfere with the outcome of the shunt speech.