Application of the Voice Handicap Index in 45 patients with substitution voicing after total laryngectomy.

We tested the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) in 45 patients with substitution voicing (that is, without the use of two vocal folds), the majority of them using tracheo-oesophageal speech. We introduced a corrected VHI score (VHI(corr)) whose values are in the range from 0 to 100 and which can be expressed as a percentage. As such, the VHI(corr) is a handy and transparent tool, and it seems to be suited for representing the handicap caused by the voice disorder when some items are unanswered as experienced in patients with substitution voicing. Interestingly, our data reveal that the voice handicap severity of this particular category of patients is (1) moderate and in the range of "common" dysphonia and (2) not affected by additional radiotherapy. It seems that the E domain is overstated due to the number of problematic items in the P and F domains.