[Estimation of smell sense rehabilitation in patients after total laryngectomy].

The loss of sense of smell significantly decreases a quality of life after total laryngectomy. That is why this problem should be considered within a complex rehabilitation of laryngectomized patients. The smell exercises ought to start parallely to the speech rehabilitation. The aim of our study was to estimate the efficacy of smell rehabilitation after total laryngectomy. 59 persons after total laryngectomy attending the fourteen days long rehabilitation camp were examined. All the patients had the examination of three smells identification (lemon, mint and anise) made before the beginning of exercises. All the persons had also the efficacy of air aspiration through the nose measured. The control examination of those parameters was conducted after fourteen days of exercises of making the negative pressure in the throat and nasopharynx directing the air flow into the olfactory area of the nose. We confirmed a statistically significant differences between the smell identification and the force of aspiration before and after rehabilitation. We confirmed that patient's age and the time from laryngectomy have the influence into the efficacy of smell rehabilitation.