Clinical experience with the low-resistance Groningen button.

Since its introduction in 1980, the standard Groningen button prosthesis has been of proven value for post-laryngectomy voice rehabilitation. Its relatively high airflow resistance has, however, been the cause of failure in achieving good post-laryngectomy tracheoesophageal shunt speech in some patients. The low-resistance Groningen button (LRGB) was therefore designed, thus reducing airflow resistance by 50% when compared to the standard device. The clinical performance of the LRGB, and the effect of prophylactic amphotericin, was assessed in 32 patients. The device lifetime, intratracheal phonatory pressures and patients' subjective acceptances of the prosthesis were recorded. Present findings showed that the majority of the patients preferred the LRGB as it required less effort to operate than the standard device. The intra-tracheal phonatory pressure was found to increase with time, but this change was prevented with the prophylactic use of amphotericin to inhibit concurrent colonization by Candida spp, which also helped to prolong the prosthesis lifetime.