has anyone ever heard of a larynx transplant?my larynx is crushed,vocal cords crushed, tracheatomy 50 years?

Answer 1

Yes,one was done about 3 years ago at the Cleveland clinic in Ohio.It was successful but the surgery has controversy as it is not considered a life saving procedure.Go to www.larynxlink.com and read the article.

Answer 2

Gerald Burke, M.D., chief of Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA has been experimenting with laryngeal transplants in dogs. Apparently, they are successful.
50 years with a trach is a LONG time! Are you eating by mouth? If so, your true and false vocal cords are closing appropriately (unless they were surgically closed, which is rare). Talk to your ENT about a Passy-Muir Valve. It can be placed on the trach tube to allow redirection of the exhaled airstream through the cords and into your mouth. Any hospital-based speech pathologist will know about it.
As far as a total laryngectomy goes, I doubt any insurance company would pay for it at this stage, since you have a patent airway and you do not have a life-threatening illness.
If you live in California or Minnesota, free artificial larynxes (electrolarynx) are available for no charge from your phone company. All it takes is a note from your doctor or speech pathologist.

Answer 3

Unfortunately there is no transplant for larynx . If you can speak in the present situation , there is no indication for further work up , but if you can not speak now and your larynx is a completely useless larynx you can undergo for laryngectomy and tracheoesophageal puncture and then after a while TEP prothesis implantation in the puncture site , so that you can speak in an acceptable quality .