[Mechanical sutures of the pharynx during total laryngectomy: proposal of a closed technique].

The authors present the results of a pharyngeal autosuture technique using a 55 mm linear stapler during total laryngectomy. The stapler is inserted before the larynx has been removed, but after it has been separated from its muscular and neuro-vascular connections and after it has been adequately elevated so that no part remains within the instrument jaws. This "closed" procedure is quite rapid, does not soil the operating field and is safe in the long run. The patient does not require a feeding tube since he can swallow from the third day after surgery. None of the patients treated with this technique produced either early or late fistulas, nor did they encounter any trouble in swallowing.