Abstract

CALDAS, Ada Salvetti Cavalcanti; FACUNDES, Vera Lúcia Dutra  and  SILVA, Hilton Justino da. Rehabilitation of smell and taste functions in total laryngectomy: systematic review. Rev. CEFAC [online]. 2012, vol.14, n.2, pp. 343-349.  Epub Sep 23, 2011. ISSN 1982-0216.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-18462011005000100.

BACKGROUND: in total laryngectomy there occurs the transfer of the nasal airflow definitely to the tracheostoma, which could cause a decrease in the perception of smell and taste. There have been recently developed methods of intervention in order to improve performance in laryngectomized smell and taste, although few studies have investigated this issue. PURPOSE: this study aimed to systematically review the evidence of how the techniques involved in the rehabilitation of the functions of smell and taste have an effect on individuals with total laryngectomy. CONCLUSION: in this review all the selected studies demonstrated effective use of rehabilitation techniques for the role of olfaction in laryngectomized. As for taste, there were no proposals in order to intervene directly in this function.

Keywords : Laryngectomy; Smell; Taste; Olfaction Disorders; Taste Disorders; Rehabilitation.