Rehabilitation Protocol for Postoperative Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.
10.3342/kjorl-hns.2010.53.2.94
- Author:
Jun Ook PARK
1
;
Do Hyun KIM
;
Hye Lim SON
;
Young Hoon JOO
;
Jung Hae CHO
;
Young Hak PARK
;
Min Sik KIM
;
Dong Il SUN
Author Information
1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. hnsdi@catholic.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Comparative Study ; Original Article
- Keywords:
Dysphagia;
Rehabilitation;
Head and neck cancer
- MeSH:
Deglutition;
Deglutition Disorders;
Head;
Head and Neck Neoplasms;
Humans;
Hypopharynx;
Korea;
Larynx;
Medical Records;
Mouth;
National Health Programs;
Neck
- From:Korean Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
2010;53(2):94-98
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Treatment of head and neck cancer patients with surgical removal may result in some degree of dysphagia. Swallowing disorders depend on the site, the extent of surgical resection, and the nature of the surgical reconstruction. As a result, rehabilitation needs to be managed by head and neck surgeons with specific anatomical knowledge. However, in Korea, only occupational therapists can get approval for dysphagia rehabilitation from the national health insurance cooperation. Therefore, we designed a Advanced Rehabilitation Protocol (ARP) rehabilitation and carried out a comparative study against the current rehabilitation protocol. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Data were collected by reviewing medical records of 40 patients who received operation on oral cavity, larynx and hypopharynx from November 2007 to January 2009. Of these, 20 patients were treated with ARP under the management of head and neck surgeons but the other 20 patients were not. RESULTS: Although the results had no statistical significance, the study showed that ARP had the effect of shortening the rehabilitation and enabled them to start adjuvant therapies early. CONCLUSION: Rehabilitation needs to be managed cooperatively by a multidisciplinary team that includes an otolaryngologist who has specific anatomical knowledge of the concerned area and reconstruction according to specific swallowing problems.
