Laryngectomy Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

If you are planning to have laryngectomy, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Infection
• Breathing difficulties
• Excessive swelling or bleeding
• Injury to the trachea (windpipe) or esophagus
• Blood clots
• Anesthesia-related problems
• Saliva leaking out to the skin (saliva fistula)
• Inability to speak or aphonia
• Cancer occurs again

Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Pre-existing medical condition
• Advanced age
• Obesity
• Smoking
• Previous surgical procedure to the larynx
• Prior radiation or chemotherapy
• Poor nutrition
• Diabetes

Be sure to discuss these risks with your doctor before the surgery.

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or any discharge from the incision site
• Nausea and/or vomiting that you cannot control with the medicines you were given after surgery, or which persist for more than two days after discharge from the hospital
• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given
• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain
• Headache, muscle aches, or dizziness
• Tracheostoma is getting smaller
• Saliva leaking through your incision
• New, unexplained symptoms

In case of an emergency, CALL 911.