Breathing, speaking and living well after a laryngectomy

Clear, practical information for anyone who has had, or is about to have, a total laryngectomy, and for the family and friends who care for them.

A smiling woman in her early forties in a tailored blazer sits at a cafe table, an HME visible at the base of her neck.

What is a total laryngectomy?

A total laryngectomy is an operation that removes the larynx and the epiglottis. It is often done when cancer of the larynx is at an advanced stage.

The larynx, or voice box, does more than make your voice. It holds the vocal cords that create sound, and it also plays a part in breathing and swallowing. When it is removed, all three change.

During the operation, the surgeon separates your windpipe from your food pipe for good. The top of the windpipe is then brought to a new opening at the base of your neck. From now on, every breath you take goes in and out through this opening. Its medical name is a tracheostoma, but most people simply call it a stoma.

Learn more about the changes

Side view of the head and neck before surgery, showing the larynx, epiglottis, food pipe and windpipe.

Air flows in through your nose and mouth, past the larynx and down the windpipe to your lungs.

Side view of the head and neck after surgery. The windpipe now ends at a stoma in the lower neck and the food pipe runs separately behind it.

The windpipe ends at the stoma in your neck. Your nose and mouth are no longer connected to your lungs.

Your journey, step by step

Understanding laryngectomy The parts of your neck involved, and what changes for your voice, breathing, smell and swallowing.
Before and after surgery Preparing for emergencies and supplies, your hospital stay, and caring for your stoma at home.
Speaking again The three ways to speak after a laryngectomy, and caring for a voice prosthesis.
Breathing and stoma care Your HME, your “new nose”, and a daily routine for adhesives and skin.
Everyday life Eating, smell and taste, water safety, going out and travel.

If you breathe through your neck

In an emergency, oxygen and rescue breathing must be given to the stoma, not the nose or mouth. Keep our emergency page saved on your phone to show anyone helping you.

Open emergency information