Multicenter prospective study on the use and outcome of rehabilitation after total laryngectomy in Germany.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the use and outcome of rehabilitation after total laryngectomy in Germany.

METHODS: We enrolled patients who were scheduled for total laryngectomy, approached them again after surgery, after 3 months and 1 year. Patients completed questionnaires and were interviewed.

RESULTS: Of 309 participants, 14% had not received any rehabilitation. Reasons for nonuse were primarily ongoing treatment and poor health. Users of rehabilitation had 4 times the odds of attaining any ability to speak compared to nonusers (odds ratio 3.8, P = .02). The main aim of rehabilitation from the perspective of the users was speech rehabilitation, mentioned by 71% before starting rehabilitation. This was also what most users (27%) found the most helpful part of rehabilitation.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients are interested in attending rehabilitation. They especially want to improve their speech capacity, which indeed is better among users of rehabilitation than in those without.