J Adv Prosthodont.  2013 Feb;5(1):29-35. 10.4047/jap.2013.5.1.29.

Assessment of the quality of life in maxillectomy patients: A longitudinal study

• Kumar P
• Alvi HA
• Rao J
• Singh BP
• Jurel SK
• Kumar L
• Aggarwal H

• KMID: 2284769
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4047/jap.2013.5.1.29

Abstract

PURPOSE
To longitudinally assess the quality of life in maxillectomy patients rehabilitated with obturator prosthesis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-six subjects were enrolled in the span of 16 months, out of which six were dropouts. Subjects (age group 20-60 years) with maxillary defects, irrespective of the cause, planned for definite obturator prosthesis, were recruited. The Hindi version of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Head and Neck version 1 of Quality of Life Questionnaire was used before surgical intervention and one month after definitive obturator. Questionnaire includes 35 questions related to the patient's physical health, well being, psychological status, social relation and environmental conditions. The data were processed with statistical package for social science (SPSS). Probability level of P<.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
The quality of life after rehabilitation with obturator prosthesis was 81.48% (+/-13.64) on average. On item-level, maximum mean scores were obtained for items problem with teeth (1.87 +/- 0.94), pain in mouth (1.80 +/- 0.92), trouble in eating (1.70 +/- 0.88), trouble in talking to other people (1.60 +/- 1.22), problems in swallowing solid food (1.57 +/- 1.22) and bothering appearance (1.53 +/- 1.04); while minimum scores were obtained for the items coughing (1.17 +/- 0.38), hoarseness of voice (1.17 +/- 0.53), painful throat (1.13 +/- 0.43), trouble in having social contacts with friends (1.10 +/- 0.40) and trouble having physical contacts with family or friends (1.10 +/- 0.31).
CONCLUSION
Obturator prosthesis is a highly positive and non-invasive approach to improve the quality of life of patients with maxillectomy defects.

Keyword

Quality of life; Maxillectomy; Obturator prosthesis; Oral cancer

MeSH Terms

Cough
Deglutition
Eating
Friends
Head
Hoarseness
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Mouth
Mouth Neoplasms
Neck
Patient Dropouts
Pharynx
Prostheses and Implants
Quality of Life
Social Sciences
Tooth
Surveys and Questionnaires

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