Introduction: The history of voice rehabilitation following laryngectomy is as long as the history of laryngectomy itself. The multitude of methods which have been employed to reduce the disability associated with the loss of the larynx, illustrate the difficulty of finding an optimal method of reestablishing verbal communication while preserving the ability to breathe and swallow.
Material and methods: The world literature was reviewed using various Internet and medical search engines and library facilities. Landmark articles were identified and summarized.
Results: A coherent history of voice rehabilitation following laryngectomy was constructed.
Discussion: The methods employed to reestablish voice after extirpation of the larynx may be grouped into the categories of: esophageal speech, surgical methods of creating competent tracheo-pharyngeal shunts to create lung powered voice with and without the use of prosthetic devices to prevent aspiration, "near-total" resection of the larynx with dynamic phonatory shunt, and the use of external pneumatic or electrical devices to create sound which is then transmitted through the oral cavity and pharynx.
Conclusion: For the past two decades, simple shunt devices inserted either primarily, at the time of laryngectomy, or later as a secondary procedure, have mainly supplanted the other methods of voice rehabilitation, with the exception of an occasional patient who has acquired good esophageal speech, or for whom external devices may be the only practical method of voice production.