Abstract
Much of the research in the area of laryngectomy hat been based on overseas data. The current study has sought to provide a picture of the laryngectomy experience in Australia. The study was longitudinal and prospective in nature, and followed 59 laryngectomies from the time of laryngectomy to nine months post-operatively. Information was collected about the type of surgery conducted (total laryngectomy, total laryngectomy with primary tracheo-oesophageal puncture or secondary tracheo-oesophageal puncture), medical complications, the methods of alaryngeal speech used by laryngectomees in both the short-term and in the long-term, and speech proficiency and speech acceptability of the different speech methods used. In addition, particular attention was given to the problem of long-term maintenance of tracheo-oesophageal speech and potential reasons for long-term failure to maintain this speech method.