Background
Total laryngectomy (TL) results in permanent functional changes requiring rapid development of complex new skills. A significant portion of this learning happens in the acute post‐surgical stage. There is increasing interest in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in TL; however, implementation has been difficult. COVID‐19 has placed significant pressures on acute services, requiring rapid service changes for TL patients.
Aims
To understand the acute patient experience of having a TL both before and during COVID‐19.
Methods & Procedures
Semi‐structured interviews using a pre‐designed topic guide were conducted with 10 people who had undergone a TL within the last 2 years. Participants were recruited by their speech and language therapists using purposive sampling. Braun and Clarke's iterative approach to data collection and thematic analysis was used to generate key themes from the data.
Outcomes & Results
Thematic analysis identified four main themes: (1) pre‐operative information‐giving: ‘it was just words’; (2) decision‐making influences: ‘I just wanted them to get it all out and get it over with’; (3) coping with adjustment to the new normal: ‘this is part of me now’; and (4) the importance of relationship‐building: ‘when you've had something like this, you need some care and understanding’.
Conclusions & Implications
The need for an individualized approach to TL intervention which incorporates medical and psycho‐social approaches from pre‐treatment to acute discharge is vital. ERAS models should be reviewed to shift beyond the medical model alone. Rapid service changes due to COVID‐19 did not contribute any major changes to the acute patient‐reported experience.
What this paper adds
What is already known on the subject
We know that ERAS protocols have the potential to improve patient outcomes following TL. However, the research does not consider anything other than the early oral feeding debate and it has therefore been difficult to implement ERAS protocols in current service models. COVID19 required head and neck cancer services to make quick changes to surgical pathways, with the potential that some ERAS protocols had been adopted inadvertently. In order to understand the impact of this, we need to understand the patient experience following TL both before and during COVID19.
What this paper adds to existing knowledge
This paper used qualitative interviews to understand the acute patient experience following TL both during and before COVID19. Findings from these interviews highlighted that people were on the most part, well prepared for the functional changes they would experience after surgery. However, people felt there were gaps in service delivery at the pre‐treatment and early discharge home period. Overall, the gaps identified were fr...
