A new self-administered questionnaire to determine patient experience with voice prostheses (Blom-singer valves)

Aim: To obtain information about valved speech and related issues in patients who have undergone total laryngectomy with the help of a new structured questionnaire on voice prosthesis.
Settings and Design: A questionnaire-based pilot study set at a tertiary referral head and neck cancer unit.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients using voice prostheses, who showed no signs of recurrence after having undergone total laryngectomy were interviewed with the help of a questionnaire that assessed issues such as voice quality, valve maintenance, leakage, quality of life, humidification and hands-free system over the preceding seven days. The data was analyzed using non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney and Spearman rank).
Results: Twenty-five patients (16 males) with a median age of 65 years (IQ range: 59-70 years) had been using the prosthesis for a median of 6 years (IQ range: 5-10 years). The majority of the patients (n=20) were fully informed about their valve size and diameter and most were able to remove and replace their own prosthesis. Fourteen patients (60%) had leakage-related issues. Women were less satisfied with their voice quality as compared to men. Overall, there appeared to be an improvement in quality of life with the use of the voice prosthesis.
Conclusions: The subjects were fairly well informed about their valve and experienced a high level of satisfaction with their voice. This questionnaire serves as a valuable tool for monitoring voice rehabilitation in patients who have undergone laryngectomy.

Keywords
Humidification, insertion, leakage, quality of life, valve change, voice prosthesis