3. Discussing Individual Operations
Students are divided into two groups -- those undergoing laryngectomy (removal of the larynx or "voice box") and those undergoing surgery involving both the laryngopharynx (Larynx and pharynx (joint opening of the gullet and windpipe)) and the cervical esophagus (the part of the gullet located in the throat).
This second group includes those who have had the following operations.
・ Hypopharyngoesophagoplasty: surgical repair of defects in the hypopharynx (the part of the pharynx lying below the aperture of the larynx and behind the larynx) and cervical esophagus with skin flaps taken from the neck.
・ Reconstructive surgery of the esophagus: reconstruction of a defect in the esophagus with a muscle flap taken from the chest, shoulders, or flank; grafting of a tube flap made of skin from the forearm (between the elbow and wrist) in place of the absent cervical esophagus; or grafting part of the jejunum (small intestine) in place of the absent cervical esophagus.
・ Suspended stomach: surgical removal of part of the stomach to create a connection between the hypopharyngeal mucos membrane and the stomach tube.
