This study is designed to develop a predictive model for the development of wound
complications in patients undergoing laryngectomy surgery for laryngeal/adjoining structure
cancers, and to evaluate the clinical efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen for the
prevention/management of wound complications in this previously irradiated population. The
eligibility profile welcomes the involvement of patients in need of laryngectomies for newly
diagnosed cancers and for failed chemoradiation. Patients are afforded the opportunity to be
cared for by some of the most distinguished head & neck surgeons and hyperbaric medicine
physicians at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the oldest teaching medical
facility in the country, as well as the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In
addition, participants will be contributing to a body of research uncovering new methods for
the assessment of tissue/tumor oxygenation, modeling to promote early wound complication
identification, and confirming the role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the care and
prevention of these problem wounds.