Speech Disorder of the Head and Neck Regions in Diagnosis and Speech Therapy of Oncological Patients. A Case Study

Abstract

Tumors of the head and neck region are lesions within the orofacial complex. Structural and
functional disturbances of individual oropharyngeal structures cause difficulties in breathing, swallowing and pronunciation. The aim of the article is to discuss speech disorders of the head and neck regions in oncological patients after radical reconstructive surgery.
The type of a linguistic disorder depends on the severity of the neoplastic disease, the extent of the postoperative loss and individual patient compensation skills. The greatest deviations from the norm occur during the implementation of sounds such as [k, g, l] and the smallest happen during phonation of vowels. The primary aim of speech therapy is to improve such skills as swallowing, articulation, phonation and communication of the patient with the environment. Re-education of the primary and secondary functions in the case of oncological patients after reconstructive surgery in the craniofacial region makes modern speech therapy an integral part of the oncological treatment.