Restoration of the act of swallowing and rehabilitation of patients with tumors of the oral cavity

Abstract

Aim: To assess the restoration of the act of swallowing in patients with cancer of the oral cavity and oropharynx using an objective method - ultrasound examination of the contraction of the muscles involved in the act of swallowing in complex treatment. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in 76 patients (58 (76.3%) men and 18 (23.7%) women, mean age 58.05±12.31 years) with tumors of the oral cavity and oropharyngeal mucosa of stages II-IVa, with the possibility of surgical removal, without distant metastases. Patients are divided into two groups depending on treatment and postoperative analgesia. The act of swallowing and its restoration were studied using the ultrasound method of research for 1 and 10 days. Results: During the study, it was found that the difference in the indicators of contractions of the muscles of the oral cavity on day 10 in the main group almost corresponded to the initial indicators before the operation and the proposed treatment. This indicates that patients with cancer of the oral cavity and oropharynx in the postoperative period resumed the act of swallowing on the 10th day and such patients could switch from zonal to self-feeding. That is, on the 10th day, a nasogastric tube can be removed from them. And in the patients of the comparison group, on the 10th day, the indicators of muscle contraction decrease. Therefore, the nasogastric tube was removed for 12-14 days, depending on the volume of removed muscles. Conclusions: The developed ultrasound study of the act of swallowing is of practical importance as an objective research method with a mathematical justification of the functional activity of the muscles. Combined treatment contributes to the rapid recovery of swallowing, which is confirmed by ultrasound examination of the contraction of the muscles involved in the act of swallowing.