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. 2019 Mar;276(3):821-826.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-018-05264-w. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Swallowing-related quality of life after free flap surgery due to cancer of the head and neck

Sanna Lahtinen  1 , Petri Koivunen  2 , Tero Ala-Kokko  3 , Outi Kaarela  4 , Päivi Laurila  5 , Janne H Liisanantti  3
Affiliations

Swallowing-related quality of life after free flap surgery due to cancer of the head and neck

Sanna Lahtinen et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: Treatment of head and neck cancers (HNC) often leads to impairment in speech and swallowing functions. This study evaluated swallowing problems and the impact of complications on swallowing-related QOL after free flap surgery for HNC.

Methods: Swallowing-related QOL was assessed using MDADI and SWAL questionnaires.

Results: Of 45 assessed patients, 25 (45.5%) had at least one postoperative complication. Patients reported less than < 86 points in 8/9 SWAL-QOL domains. The SWAL-QL total score or MDADI composite scores were not related to surgical complications. Those with medical complications had lower scores in SWAL-QOL domains of mental health (82.8 (21.8) vs 65.5 (24.2), p = 0.024) and sleep (77.6 (23.0) vs 52.3 (24.3), p = 0.003).

Conclusions: In conclusion, swallowing related QOL is significantly impaired after 2 years of the tumor resection and free flap reconstruction for cancer of the head and neck, when using the cut-off value of 86 points in SWAL-QOL assessment tool. Surgical complications did not have an impact on swallowing-related QOL but medical complications were related to impairment in general QOL-related domains.

Keywords: Cancer of the head and neck; Dysphagia; Free flap surgery; Quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the hospital administration (239/2016) and local ethics committee (The Regional Ethics Committee of the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital 95/2016).

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants includes in the study.

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