The Quality of Life Levels of Turkish-speaking Individuals With Total Laryngectomy

Total laryngectomy (TL) is defined as a life-altering operation involving surgical removal of laryngeal structures. Quality of life levels of individuals with TL might be severely affected, therefore current study sought to examine these levels using validated tools in Turkish. The study design was comperative, correlational, and descriptive. Turkish versions of Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy (TR-SECEL) and University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (TR-UW-QOL) were administered online to 39 participants with TL ( Mean age = 62.10, SD = 9.81). Participants were stratified into two or three groups according to age, education, alaryngeal communication method (ACM), and time after TL as scores of these groups were compared accordingly. Correlation between a number of variables and scores was examined. Regarding TR-SECEL, General domain scores were significantly higher in individuals with TL using tracheoesophageal speech (TES) compared to esophageal speech (ES), there was a positive and moderate relationship between age and General domain scores. Regarding TR-UW-QOL, Mood domain scores of individuals aged 60+ were significantly higher while Anxiety domain scores of individuals with nine or more years of education were significantly higher than the other groups. Appearance domain scores were higher in favor of individuals using TES as well as with a duration of 121 months and above following TL, while Shoulder domain scores were in favor of those with ES. As reported in previous studies, it does not seem plausible to state one specific ACM has priority over the other or it fulfills voice restoration in the long term without any complications.