The Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust Fund was recently proud to fund a new head-worn medical scope for the Albury Wodonga Health speech pathology team.

The Vorotek O Scope, valued at $1960, allows for easier assessment and management of patients who have undergone surgery as a result of laryngeal cancer.

Speech pathologist Natalie Wilkinson said the scope would be used during laryngectomy procedures such as voice prosthesis changes, cleaning stoma, inspecting tracheal tissue and tracheoesophageal puncture.

“The magnification will be useful in assisting with these procedures to better visualise within the stoma, and the direct, hands-free LED light will allow much better visualisation and clinical independence,” she said.

“This would allow for quicker and easier voice prosthesis changes for the patient due to a much improved brightness of this light source.

“This scope will also be of benefit for oral care assessment and management with inpatients and outpatients, particularly those with head and neck cancer, by allowing hands-free care and adequate illumination.”