Stenosis of the neopharynx
Problem: the patient has a stenosis of the neopharynx
A stenosis of the neopharynx (mostly influencing swallowing more than voicing) does not interfere with the anterograde replacement of a voice prosthesis, but obviously can be a problem in a retrograde replacement procedure. If a neopharyngeal stenosis is suspected or known, and retrograde replacement is necessary, this is preferably carried out under general anesthesia with concurrent dilatation of the PE-segment. If the stenosis is less prominent, dilatation under local anesthesia and subsequently the required retrograde replacement of the prosthesis may still be possible. Although with the anterograde replacement of a Provox2 prosthesis a pharyngeal stenosis is not causing replacement problems, its dilatation might still be necessary for other (swallowing) reasons.
A stenosis of the neopharynx (mostly influencing swallowing more than voicing) does not interfere with the anterograde replacement of a voice prosthesis, but obviously can be a problem in a retrograde replacement procedure. If a neopharyngeal stenosis is suspected or known, and retrograde replacement is necessary, this is preferably carried out under general anesthesia with concurrent dilatation of the PE-segment. If the stenosis is less prominent, dilatation under local anesthesia and subsequently the required retrograde replacement of the prosthesis may still be possible. Although with the anterograde replacement of a Provox2 prosthesis a pharyngeal stenosis is not causing replacement problems, its dilatation might still be necessary for other (swallowing) reasons.