Upper Esophageal Sphincter Dilation for Recalcitrant Dysphagia Secondary to Dermatomyositis.

Dermatomyositis is a rare multisystem autoimmune disorder occasionally accompanied by dysphagia. It is typically treated with immune modulating agents; however, dysphagia is often unresponsive to these. Previous reports have demonstrated the utility of videoflouroscopy and manometry in understanding the etiologies of dysphagia to inform a procedural target, historically the cricopharyngeus muscle.

Dynasplint for the management of trismus after treatment of upper aerodigestive tract cancer: a retrospective study.

In order to evaluate the Dynasplint Trismus System (DTS) for the relief of trismus secondary to the treatment of head and neck cancer, we conducted a retrospective chart review of patients who had undergone DTS therapy during a 1-year period. Our inclusion criteria were cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract; treatment with radiation, chemotherapy, and/or surgery; and a maximal incisal opening (MIO) of less than 30 mm. MIO and the rate of improvement of trismus ("gain") were measured at selected intervals.

Patient-perceived and objective functional outcomes following transoral robotic surgery for early oropharyngeal carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate changes in patient-perceived swallowing function over time following transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for primary T1 and T2 oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

Design: Prospective case series.

Setting: Academic tertiary referral center.

Primary versus delayed tracheoesophageal puncture for laryngopharyngectomy with free flap reconstruction.

Objectives: To determine whether postoperative complication rates and speech outcomes differ between patients undergoing primary versus secondary tracheoesophageal puncture following total laryngectomy with free flap reconstruction.

Study Design: Retrospective clinical study in a tertiary academic center.

Methods: Between November 2004 and June 2010, 137 patients underwent total laryngectomy or laryngopharyngectomy with pharyngeal free flap reconstruction for malignant disease.

Pretreatment swallowing exercises improve swallow function after chemoradiation.

Objectives/hypothesis: Swallowing dysfunction is a devastating complication of chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We have previously demonstrated that pretreatment swallowing exercises improve posttreatment swallowing-related quality of life. This study evaluates the effect of pretreatment swallowing exercises on posttreatment swallow function as measured by videofluoroscopy.

Pretreatment, preoperative swallowing exercises may improve dysphagia quality of life.

Objectives: Dysphagia is commonly associated with head and neck cancer treatment. Traditional dysphagia management strategies focus on post-treatment therapy. This study evaluated the utility of pretreatment swallowing exercises in improving post-treatment swallowing quality of life (QOL).