A prospective study was carried out to evaluate a new technique of pharyngeal repair following laryngectomy. The purpose of this study was to see whether satisfactory healing would occur if the pharyngeal constrictors were not sutured across the closure in the pharynx. If healing proved to be satisfactory the procedure might eliminate the need for primary or secondary myotomy or pharyngeal plexus neurectomy to facilitate tracheoesophageal speech. The results indicate that healing is as good in the group who did not have muscle closure as in those who did.
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