Tolerance of early oral feeding in patients subjected to total laryngectomy.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to assess the tolerance of early oral feeding after total laryngectomy. METHOD A randomized multicenter study was conducted that included 89 individuals subjected to total laryngectomy. The participants were allocated to 2 groups: early (n = 44), early oral feeding; and late (n = 45), late oral feeding. The participants in the early group were assessed as to acceptance of oral feeding, and their food intake was quantified. RESULTS In the early group, the total energy expenditure and protein needs were not met through oral feeding alone at any time during the first 7 postoperative days. The times to attain 25% and 50% of the total energy expenditure and protein needs by oral feeding after surgery were 4 and 7 days, respectively. CONCLUSION The patients subjected to early oral feeding failed to meet their caloric and protein needs through that route alone during the first 4 postoperative days and required complementary nutrition through another route. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E643-E648, 2016.