Total Laryngectomy Essay

Swallowing is the movement of food from the mouth into the Esophagus. The esophagus secretes mucus and transports the food to the stomach via peristalsis.

As you can see, it is a tubelike structure made of muscle and lined with mucous membrane. The pharynx functions as part of the respiratory and digestive system because it is located behind the nasal cavities and the mouth. It is the structure that we refer to as the throat. It is about twelve and a half centimeters long and consists of three parts; the nasopharynx, oropharynx and the laryngopharynx. (Anatomy.tv, n.d.) The esophagus branches off of the pharynx which carries food to the stomach. Swallowing takes place in the pharynx partly as a reflex and partly under voluntary control. The tongue and soft palate pushes food into the pharynx, which closes off the trachea. The food then enters the esophagus. The esophagus is a muscular tube extending from the pharynx to the stomach. . (Mohan, 2010). It is about 25 centimeters long. The production of mucus by glands in the mucosal lining as you can see lubricates the tube to permit easier passage of food moving toward the stomach. (Thibodeau & Patton, 2008). Food is pushed through the esophagus and into the stomach by a series of contractions called peristalsis. The lower esophageal sphincter is just before the opening to the stomach. It opens to let food pass into the stomach and closes to keep it there. (Mohan, 2010).

Mrs. Newman has been experiencing hoarseness and a change in her voice, but she did not seek medical help until she began to have difficulty swallowing. After being seen by her healthcare provider, she is scheduled for outpatient surgery for a direct laryngoscope to obtain a culture and take a biopsy.

Watching my friends’ face quiver in disgust after recounting my experience of a videofluoroscopicy and my excitement from viewing the barium travel through the oropharyngeal and pharyngeal phases of swallowing, I realized I wanted to study the extraordinary field of Communication Sciences and Disorders. During my undergraduate career at East Carolina University, my anatomy and physiology class further fostered my enthusiasm for the field when discovering how intricate and complex it is for the human body to perform a simple task such as breathing and swallowing. I was able to utilize my thirst for knowledge of the human anatomy working in Dr. Perry’s Speech Imaging and Visualization Laboratory and enhance my writing skills by reviewing peer reviewed journal articles. Ultimately working and observing lab assistants create 3D anatomical models of the laryngeal mechanism, velopharyngeal mechanism, swallowing mechanism, skull and cranium,

As dementia progresses, swallowing difficulties (called dysphagia) become more common, although they can vary from person to person. If a person is having difficulty with swallowing, a referral to a speech and language therapist can help. Difficulties can include holding food in the mouth, continuous chewing, and leaving foods that are harder to chew (eg hard vegetables) on the plate. Swallowing difficulties can also lead to weight loss, malnutrition and

Oxygen and The Larynx Both in Mary Oliver’s “Oxygen” and Alice Jones’s “The Larynx use the same central idea that bodily functions can do so much for a person. In “Oxygen” the poet describes how the character has had a breathing issue their whole life and has an oxygen machine to help them breath well, and it is beautiful (Oliver 824). In “The Larynx” the poet describes how singing requires the strength and ability to make the body an instrument. Both poems use the body to make something beautiful, for better or for worse.

The speech-language pathologists (SLPs) at Martin Health System (MHS) evaluate, diagnose, and treat a diverse patient population who present with a myriad of medical issues, the most common of which is a condition known as dysphagia. More than 80% of patients referred to an SLP at our facility present with this diagnosis. Broadly characterized by trouble swallowing, dysphagia includes everything from painful swallows, to coughing or choking while eating and drinking, or even a sensation of a lump in throat, . Complications of dysphagia can lead to dehydration, malnutrition, and respiratory problems such as aspiration pneumonia, fatigue, cognitive confusion, decreased quality of life, or even death.

Dysphagia is defined as a difficulty moving food from the mouth to the stomach. Dysphagia can come and go or slowly worsen over time depending on the other disorders present. When a person has a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), dysphasia can appear and later go away. If a progressive neurological impairment is the cause of the dysphagia, the swallowing problems can worsen over time and never go away (Logemann, 1998). Dysphagia is a commonly diagnosed for at least a short time after a CVA has occurred and individuals are more likely to aspirate liquids with a lower viscosity (Murray et al. 2016).

Treatment for esophageal cancer focuses on removing the cancer through surgery. Chemotherapy and radiation also may be used.

Physical therapy is a long process but it is very helpful. This therapeutic mechanism has made very noticeable changes in many patients life. One particular study conducted by Neurologijos Seminarai, found after physical therapy it significantly helped improved gait over multiple sessions, he stated “After the cycle of physical therapy sessions, balance and gait of patients with Par kin son’s dis ease statistically significantly improved (p< 0.005). (Web, Yael Manor) Proving Swallowing therapy does have a

Some ways to treat dysphagia would be swallowing therapy and changing of diet. Most post-operative patients will be placed on a strict puree diet to assess feeding. Gradually they will rise back up to a regular diet. Most circumstances require approval from the therapy department but it’s up to the nurses or the nursing assistants to inform therapy about changes in swallowing. After assessing a patient and you can tell that there is some difficulty in swallowing then they should be placed on thickened fluids to ease the swallowing process. Thickened liquids are common practice in the management of dysphagia as they are easy to implement by nursing staff awaiting formal assessment by therapy. (Hughes, 2011) Other factors that can help treat dysphagia in a stroke patient would be positioning. You need to make sure that the patient is always sitting in an upright position. Positioning the patient correctly is crucial because of physical and neurological changes that occur after stroke, such as reduced muscle tone or paralysis which can obstruct the airway and result in aspiration.

Mrs. Helen Bessler, mother of George Bessler, was hospitalized 16March2015 and underwent surgery of the right lung on 17March2015. She had cancer of the right lung that required removal of two lobes and a section of the superior vena cava.

You may be surprised how many times you swallow throughout the day -- every time you eat or drink something, you have to swallow multiple times. You also swallow salvia throughout the day. The condition where one has difficulty swallowing is referred to as dysphagia or the swallowing disorder. Use this guide to better understand what your loved one is going through, and how a qualified speech pathologist can assist them.

Normal respiration consists of inhalation and exhalation. Inhalation is taking in oxygen and delivering it to all cells in the body and exhalation is picking up carbon dioxide waster product of cells and taking it out. Air travel from the nose or mouth into the larynx into the trachea and ends up in the lungs where oxygen is dropped and carbon dioxide is picked up. Oxygen is really important for cell function and when oxygen is not delivered, cells begin to die. So when process of breathing does not work properly other methods of delivering oxygen are used such as tracheostomy.

Aspiration is another complication that is common among patients with feeding tubes. Aspiration is when food enters the lungs causing the person to choke. The reported