Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of swallowing therapy on severity of swallowing disorder, the quality of life, and feeding in patients with head and neck cancer surgery. Method: The study was carried out between January 2019- May 2019 and the study group consisted of 13 individuals, 11 males and 2 females, who underwent head and neck cancer surgery and later were admitted to Istanbul Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital ENT- Swallowing Clinic. The participants underwent swallowing therapy. The Turkish Swallowing Quality of Life Questionnaire (T-SWAL-QOL) was administered before and after therapy to determine the quality of life of the research group. The Eating Assessment Tool Questionnaire (EAT-10) was also administered to determine the severity of the swallowing disorder and the effect of therapy. Pre-test and post-test results obtained from each test were compared using The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Results: The comparison of the pre- and post-therapy results of the T-SWAL-QOL revealed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores. In order to determine the extent to which the severity of swallowing disorder was affected by swallowing therapy, the examination of the pre- and post-therapy scores of the EAT-10 questionnaire revealed a difference that was statistically significant. When the average effect percentages of the sub-domains were calculated using the sub-domain scores of the T-SWAL-QOL questionnaire questions, it was observed that the sub-domain with the highest effect percentages was the ''eating desire'' and the lowest was the sub-domain with questions related to ''sleep''. The feeding of patients also improved. While before therapy all but one patient used an NG tube and one used a PEG, after therapy, none was using an NG tube, and 8 improved to oral feeding. Conclusion: It was observed that the implemented therapy exercises decreased the severity of swallowing disorder and increased the quality of life positively in our participant group who underwent head and neck cancer surgery. Their feeding also improved.
Keywords
head and neck cancer, swallowing disorder, quality of life, swallowing therapy, dysphagia
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