[The clinical observation of early oral feeding following total laryngectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the feasibility of oral feeding 48-72 hours after total laryngectomy of carcinoma of the larynx or pyriform sinus. METHOD: Forty-two patients underwent total laryngectomy (included 34 patients of larynx carcinoma and 8 patients of pyriform sinus carcinoma) were random categorized into control group and experimental group. The experimental group of 21 patients who received oral feeding 48 to 72 h after total laryngectomy was compared with the control group of 21 patients who received oral feeding 10 to 12 days. RESULT: Pharyngocutaneous fistula occurred in one patient (4.8%) in the experimental group and in two patients (9.5%) in the control group. These differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The length of hospital stay was significantly shorted. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that in the patient population initiation of oral feeding 48 to 72 h after total laryngectomy of carcinoma of the larynx or pyriform sinus is a safe clinical practice.