Background. After resection of maxillofacial tumors, severe functional problems related to mastication, deglutition, and speech are observed in addition to the changes in appearance and psychosocial functioning. Although speech outcome is recovered with prosthetic treatments, patients sometimes complain of continued dissatisfaction with their speech. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential dissatisfaction of patients with maxillectomy defects during speech.
Methods. Sixteen patients with maxillary obturator were compared with a matched control group. Functional improvement by the maxillofacial prosthesis was confirmed using a speech intelligibility test, a chewing function score, and visual analogue scale on subjective satisfaction. Cortisol and chromogranin A (CgA) were evaluated after prescribed speech tasks.
Results. CgA in patients with maxillectomy defects was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < .05), even after the functional improvement by maxillofacial prosthesis.
Conclusion. It was revealed that patients with maxillectomy defects have significant psychological stresses during speech, even when their maxillofacial prosthesis resulted in successful functional improvement. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 33: 620-626, 2011