Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Jun;31(6):813-21.
doi: 10.1002/hed.21042.

Quality of life in patients with maxillectomy prostheses

Jonathan Irish  1 , Nimani Sandhu, Colleen Simpson, Robert Wood, Ralph Gilbert, Patrick Gullane, Dale Brown, David Goldstein, Gerald Devins, Emma Barker
Affiliations

Quality of life in patients with maxillectomy prostheses

Jonathan Irish et al. Head Neck. 2009 Jun.

Abstract

Background: This cross-sectional study sought to determine patient quality of life and function after prosthetic rehabilitation for maxillary and palate defects following cancer resection.

Methods: Sixty-nine patients were identified, 42 participated in the study (61%). The Obturator Functioning Scale (OFS) and 4 general quality of life measures (Mental Health Inventory [MHI], Impact of Events Scale [IES], Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale [IIRS], and Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [CES-D]) were correlated with clinical parameters.

Results: Leakage when swallowing foods was the most frequently reported problem with the obturator (29%). Positive correlation was noted between the OFS and both the IES subscales (p < .01) and CES-D (p < .001). Difficulty with speech and eating was associated with increased avoidance of social situations. The surgical approach had a significant effect on the OFS, IES, and MHI subscales (p < .01).

Conclusion: These results support the findings that good obturator function is associated with a better quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources