Voice Found: Woman speaks with new larynx
Imagine not being able to speak and the only use of communication sounded like a robot to one day finding your voice again. This is the story of Brenda Charett Jensen. She lost her ability to speak due to damage to her airway during a surgery in 1999. Her only option to breathe was through a tracheotomy tube that passed through a hole in her neck. This October, Brenda became the second person in the US to receive a larynx transplant. The larynx is involved in breathing, swallowing, and talking. She received a larynx, thyroid and part of a trachea from a car accident victim that connected to five nerves, three arteries, and two veins.
Her voice is her own individual voice since it is not shaped by the larynx but from the vocal tract and structures in the mouth. However, this transplantation involves many risks. Medication will be essential to suppress the immune system to overcome rejection leading to difficulties in fighting infections and other diseases. Yet, Brenda was already taking these medications since she had a kidney and pancreas transplant. After the surgery, it took two months to restore her voice. “‘She's developing sensation and developing movement in the vocal cords," said Gregory Farwell, associate professor of otolaryngology at UC Davis and lead surgeon for the transplant. "Nerves take a long time to regenerate. Her voice will continue to heal.’” She is also regaining smell and taste and her swallowing is improving so she can eat and drink.
Larynx transplants are rare and most damage comes from cancer. “A vast majority of larynxes can be reconstructed by putting the cartilage back together, putting stents or sutures, he said. Another option is to work with a speech pathologist to learn esophageal speech, a method of vocalizing using the esophagus.” This transplant gave Brenda a new outlook on life. "I never know what's coming tomorrow, but I know it's better than where I've been," she said.
The ability to successfully perform transplants continues to wow me. The possibilities seem to be limitless. It has really gotten me thinking about being an organ donor since it can dramatically change someone’s life.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/20/larynx.transplant/index.html
Her voice is her own individual voice since it is not shaped by the larynx but from the vocal tract and structures in the mouth. However, this transplantation involves many risks. Medication will be essential to suppress the immune system to overcome rejection leading to difficulties in fighting infections and other diseases. Yet, Brenda was already taking these medications since she had a kidney and pancreas transplant. After the surgery, it took two months to restore her voice. “‘She's developing sensation and developing movement in the vocal cords," said Gregory Farwell, associate professor of otolaryngology at UC Davis and lead surgeon for the transplant. "Nerves take a long time to regenerate. Her voice will continue to heal.’” She is also regaining smell and taste and her swallowing is improving so she can eat and drink.
Larynx transplants are rare and most damage comes from cancer. “A vast majority of larynxes can be reconstructed by putting the cartilage back together, putting stents or sutures, he said. Another option is to work with a speech pathologist to learn esophageal speech, a method of vocalizing using the esophagus.” This transplant gave Brenda a new outlook on life. "I never know what's coming tomorrow, but I know it's better than where I've been," she said.
The ability to successfully perform transplants continues to wow me. The possibilities seem to be limitless. It has really gotten me thinking about being an organ donor since it can dramatically change someone’s life.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/20/larynx.transplant/index.html
posted by Carrie Pottmeyer at 6:06 PM
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