Advances and refinements in surgical voice rehabilitation after laryngectomy.

After Blom and Singer reported the construction of the so-called "duck bill" prosthesis in 1980, there have been quite a few newer voice prostheses constructed by other workers and new methods developed to predict the results, such as the insufflation and lidocaine test. Implanting the voice prosthesis with the Blom-Singer method has presented some problems and complications related to the puncture technique, therefore the following simplified esophagotracheal puncture technique is presented. The pharynx is opened with the laryngoscope which is then led up to the entrance of the esophagus. Through the laryngoscope, the distal end of the endo-extralaryngeal needle carrier, developed by the author and modified for mass production by R. Wolf Ltd., Germany, is led into the esophagus. The instrument is pushed forward as long as its distal bent, blunt end is palpable in the upper third of the tracheostoma. The needle with the thread (2/0 prolene) is pushed through from the inside, out in the upper third of the tracheostoma. A double wire forming a loop is led through the pointed metal cone (containing a built-in needle) and the catheter and tied behind a counterfixing pierced ball. The 2/0 prolene leading thread is then knotted with the wire. By pulling the thread and the wire, the pointed end of the metal cone with the needle built-in, perforates the soft parts and pulls the catheter with it (the same procedure will be used for primary puncture as well). After this procedure the voice prosthesis can easily be placed in the fistula in a conventional manner. Using this technique, 59 patients could be implanted without puncture-related complications or problems. Problems, not related to the puncture technique, such as Candida albicans infection etc., were solved using the well-known treatment modalities. To stop leakage around the prosthesis, injection of Bioplastique into the soft tissue surrounding the fistula was used with success.