The purpose of a laryngeal transplant is not to save a person’s life, but rather to improve the quality of life. A laryngeal transplantation is aimed to restore the organ back to normal function for talking, breathing, and swallowing. The transplantation ideally will allow the patient to voluntarily move the vocal folds for adduction (coming together), abduction (moving apart, breathing and voice) and laryngeal elevation (swallowing). Ideal candidates for such a procedure are patients with large benign or low-grade malignant tumors and patients who have suffered trauma. Patients that will not likely be considered for such a big procedure are those who have had throat cancer because of its high risk for recurrence. A transplant may be considered for those who have no other correctable options for conventional surgical techniques. Communication is one of the fundamental aspects of daily living with individuals spending much of their day utilizing their voices. From a psychological standpoint, our voices are a key aspect to our identities. Alternatives to typical voicing have been around for years, but studies have demonstrated individual’s unsatisfactory results. It has been reported that only 33% of those with esophageal speech were satisfied with the quality of their communication. Only 40% of patients were satisfied with speech that was derived from an electrolayrnx. The highest satisfaction came with tracheosophageal punctures with 55% satisfaction. Looking at these statistics, one can see why a laryngeal transplant would improve the quality of life by increasing a person’s ability to use functional speech in the same manner as a typical communicator. However, there are many risks associated with the surgery that should be taken into consideration (Narula, Bradley, Carding, Hakim, Rumsey & Sokol, 2011).
Resource:
Narula, T., Bradley, P., Carding, P., Hakim, N., Rumsey, N., & Sokol, D. (2011). Laryngeal transplantation . London: The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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