Associations between hypopharyngeal defect closure and quality of life in long-term total laryngectomy survivors.

Background: Few studies have examined health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in long-term total laryngectomy survivors in relation to the type of hypopharyngeal defect.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in long-term total laryngectomy survivors, treated between 2000 and 2020. The primary outcome was HRQOL, assessed using the FACE-Q Head and Neck Cancer Module, in relation to the type of hypopharyngeal closure (primary closure, partial or circumferential reconstruction).

Results: Seventy-nine survivors were included with a median follow-up of 92.1 months (IQR 75.6-140.2 months). Patients requiring partial hypopharyngeal reconstruction (n = 18) scored significantly worse than patients with primary closure (n = 51) on 4 of 13 FACE-Q domains: functional domains of eating (p = 0.03), speech (p = 0.05), and swallowing (p = 0.03), and the psychological domain of speaking-related distress (p = 0.02). No statistically significant differences were found between the circumferential hypopharyngeal defect reconstruction group (n = 10). Stricture occurrence was the only clinical factor associated with worse eating, speaking, swallowing, eating-related distress, and cancer worry in multivariable analyses.

Conclusion: Several functional and psychological domains were significantly worse following partial hypopharyngeal reconstruction than in patients who received primary closure. Efforts to reduce stricture rates to enhance reconstructive outcomes following total laryngectomy merit further research.