Voice Therapy According to the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System: Expert Consensus Ingredients and Targets

Purpose Clinical trials have demonstrated that standardized voice treatment programs are effective for some patients, but identifying the unique individual treatment ingredients specifically responsible for observed improvements remains elusive. To address this problem, the authors used a taxonomy of voice therapy, the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS), and a Delphi process to develop the RTSS-Voice (expert consensus categories of measurable and unique voice treatment ingredients and targets). Method Initial targets and ingredients were derived from a taxonomy of voice therapy. Through six Delphi Rounds, 10 vocal rehabilitation experts rated the measurability and uniqueness of individual treatment targets and ingredients. After each round, revisions (guided by the experts' feedback) were finalized among a primary reader (a voice therapy expert) and two external readers (rehabilitation experts outside the field of voice). Consensus was established when the label and definition of an ingredient or target reached a supramajority threshold (≥ 8 of 10 expert agreement). Results Thirty-five target and 19 ingredient categories were agreed to be measurable, unique, and accurate reflections of the rules and terminology of the RTSS. Operational definitions for each category included differences in the way ingredients are delivered and the way individual targets are modified by those ingredients. Conclusions The consensus labels and operationalized ingredients and targets making up the RTSS-Voice have potential to improve voice therapy research, practice, and education/training. The methods used to develop these lists may be useful for other speech, language, and hearing treatment specifications. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.15243357

The influence of vocal rehabilitation methods on communication in patients with total laryngectomy

BACKGROUND. Considering the problematic social integration after total laryngectomy, evaluation of communicational aptitudes of patients after the surgical intervention is necessary in order to optimize their vocal rehabilitation process. MATERIAL AND METHODS. A prospective clinical study was conducted on 24 randomly selected patients of the Otolaryngology Clinic of Targu Mures County Emergency Clinical Hospital that underwent total laryngectomy. We adapted and implemented the questionnaire for Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy – SECEL. Three groups of patients were created: the first containing those with voice prosthesis, the second those using electrolarynx and esophageal voice, and the third with no rehabilitation. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test for the statistical analysis of the results. RESULTS. The mean age of the patients included in our study group was 63 years (+/− 7.56 SD). 95.83% of the participants were male. 79.16% were married. The majority (87.50%) of patients were retired. In 75% of cases, 0 to 5 years have passed since the surgery. 75% reported diminished communication after surgery. The test used to determine if significant differences were present between the examined groups showed a p-value of 0.1329 (total scores), p-value of 0.3244 (the first score of SECEL), p-value = 0.6004 (the second score of SECEL) and a p-value of 0.0613 (the third score of SECEL). Given that p was higher than 0.05, the null hypotheses could not be rejected. The patients who underwent rehabilitation by tracheoesophageal prosthesis showed the best results in all tested categories. CONCLUSION. The SECEL questionnaire adapted in Romanian language could be used as a valid screening instrument in order to improve voice rehabilitation, but it needs further testing.

Pharyngocutaneous Fistulas Following Total Laryngectomy

Total laryngectomy is still the final therapeutic solution in cases of locally advanced laryngeal cancer, as well as in cases of therapeutic failure of organ-sparing surgery or radiation therapy. Following excision of the larynx, the remaining pharynx is reconstructed to obtain continuity of the upper digestive tract. One of the most common complications in these patients, despite constant refinement of the procedure, is the development of a pharyngo-cutaneous fistula. These fistulas prolong hospital stay and often require a second surgical procedure, increasing morbidity and cost for the patient, while diminishing his quality of life. Some risk-factors have been identified, but only some may be corrected before surgery to lower this risk. Managing the fistula once present depends on multiple factors, essential being the size of the fistula as well as the position and concomitant factors, with options ranging from conservative measures to aggressive reconstructive surgery with local miocutaneous flaps. Modern vocal rehabilitation with T.E.P. (tracheo-esophageal puncture) and vocal prosthesis placement presents a new challenge – because of the risk of developing a tracheo-esophageal fistula, with an even higher risk for the patient because of tracheal aspiration. Understanding healing mechanisms of these structures is key to proper management of this complication.

Subtotal laryngectomy with formation of a laryngotracheal shunt in vocal rehabilitation of patients with stage III and IV locally advanced larynx and laryngopharynx cancer (literature review)

Currently accepted standard of surgical treatment of patients with locally advanced stage III and IV laryngeal and laryngopharyngeal cancer is laryngectomy which leads to loss of vocal function. Therefore, vocal rehabilitation is one of the most important tasks of the doctor. It allows to increase quality of life of patients after treatment. Currently used techniques of vocal rehabilitation have their advantages and disadvantages. The article considers various techniques of vocal rehabilitation, primarily, subtotal laryngectomy with laryngotracheal shunt as a promising method of surgical rehabilitation of patients with locally advanced caner of the larynx and laryngopharynx.

Mapping Meta-Therapy in Voice Interventions onto the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System

Meta-therapy refers to the clinical dialogue via which direct and indirect voice treatments are introduced and discussed, and which helps build a useful conceptual framework for voice therapy. Meta-therapy was idiosyncratically defined in previous work. However, the current colloquial narrative of meta-therapy is not standardized or specific enough to be reliably taught, rigorously studied, or clinically delivered with high fidelity. Therefore, this article uses a standard framework (the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System or RTSS) to further articulate and operationalize meta-therapy in vocal rehabilitation. Meta-therapy's conceptual framework generally aligns with the RTSS's treatment theory and associated concepts; e.g., the treatment component and its underlying ingredients, mechanisms of action, and target. Because the treatment theories in meta-therapy most frequently involve mechanisms of action related to information processing, they primarily map onto the RTSS's Representations treatment components. The treatment targets in meta-therapy are often focused on changes in the patient's cognitions, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and/or awareness regarding voice-related modifications. The ingredients in meta-therapy are frequently clinician actions conveying information with the goal of appropriately shaping the patient's mental representations, and are delivered with verbal cues, stories, analogies, etc. This manuscript provides specific examples of how meta-therapy is applied in clinical voice practice. Considerations for future investigation of meta-therapy are proposed.

Voice rehabilitation with phonatory prosthesis after total laryngectomy and pharyngolaryngectomy: comparison of functional outcomes between primary and secondary puncture

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) with voice prosthesis (VP) placement is considered the standard for vocal rehabilitation after total laryngectomy (TL). This study aimed to compare the success rate of primary and secondary TEP and to evaluate the impact of clinical factors on functional outcome.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> A retrospective medical chart review was conducted in patients who underwent TL or pharyngolaryngectomy (PLT) and TEP. Variables collected included age, gender, comorbidities, tumor location and stage, extension of surgical resection, reconstruction, neck dissection, radiation therapy, salvage surgery, device lifetime, postoperative complications and successful voice restoration.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 186 patients were enrolled in this study, 164 patients (88.2%) underwent primary TEP and 22 (11.8%) secondary TEP. Successful voice rehabilitation was achieved in 76.9% of patients and there was no difference between primary and secondary TEP groups (76.2% vs. 81.8%, p=0.76). A poorer voice restoration outcome was found in patients who underwent radiation therapy (p=0.01) or salvage surgery (p=0.03). Adjuvant radiation was the only independent prognostic factor for functional success (OR=4.7, IC 95%= 1.4-15.9, p=0.04). VP related complications occurred in 65.7% of patients, with higher incidence in secondary TEP group (90.9% vs. 67.7%, p=0.03). Overall device lifetime was similar between primary and secondary groups (9.2 vs. 8.7 months, p=0.89).</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Voice rehabilitation outcome was similar with primary and secondary TEP. However, TEP related complications were more common in secondary procedures. Primary TEP allows earlier voice restoration, avoiding a second surgical intervention. Functional success rate was poorer for patients who underwent radiation therapy.</p>

Surgical Closure of Tracheoesophageal Puncture Without a Flap Interposition

Tracheoesophageal puncture for voice prosthesis placement is often used in vocal rehabilitation of patients undergoing total laryngectomy. Although its closure can occur spontaneously, some patients require a surgical procedure. We propose a surgical technique, without flap interposition, that begins with careful separation of the esophagus and trachea and identification of the site of tracheoesophageal fistula. After continuous suture closure of the esophagus, the anterior segment of the first tracheal rings is vertically incised to facilitate tracheal closure in a suture without tension. Finally, a small pectoral skin flap is made and mobilized to suture to the free edges of the sectioned tracheal rings, thus reducing the risk of tracheal stenosis. Four patients underwent this procedure with uneventful postoperative evolution and permanent closure of the fistula.