# Heat and moisture exchangers, laryngectomy tubes and stoma protectors

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/laryngectomy-stoma-care-devices/  
OnCo record `laryngectomy-stoma-care-devices` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Small filters worn over the breathing hole in the neck after the voice box is removed. They warm, moisten and clean the air the nose used to, and covers and guards keep water and dust out when showering or outdoors.

## Summary

After total laryngectomy air goes straight into the windpipe without passing through the nose. Heat and moisture exchangers (HMEs) clip into a baseplate stuck around the stoma or into a laryngectomy tube or button. Atos Medical's Provox Micron HME was cleared on 30 May 2008 (K072582, product code JOH). In England these are prescribed from Part IXA of the NHS Drug Tariff: in November 2026 it lists 482 rows of tracheostomy breathing aids, most from Severn Healthcare Technologies (207) and Atos Medical (137), including Provox Life HMEs and Provox LaryTube tubes, and 58 rows of tracheostomy and laryngectomy protectors such as Provox protectors and shower aids.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: standard-of-care
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: HME; Heat and moisture exchanger; Artificial nose; Laryngectomy tube; LaryTube; Stoma button; Stoma protector; Shower protector; Provox Micron
- Tags: devices-gaps-2026-11
- Principle: A foam or paper cassette in the stoma traps the heat and moisture of each exhaled breath and returns it on the next inhalation, adds a little breathing resistance like the nose did, and filters particles.
- Since: 2008
- Strengths: Reduces coughing and mucus after laryngectomy; Prescribable in England
- Limitations: Baseplate adhesion problems on irradiated skin; Daily replacement of cassettes

## Sources

- FDA 510(k) K072582: Provox Micron HME (30 May 2008): https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpmn/pmn.cfm?ID=K072582
- NHS Drug Tariff Part IX, November 2026 (NHSBSA, CSV): https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2026-10/Drug%20Tariff%20Part%20IX%20November%202026.csv

## Connected records

- cancers: [Hypopharyngeal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/hypopharyngeal-cancer/), [Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/laryngeal-cancer/)
- fronts: [Devices & Physical Therapies](https://onco.cc/fronts/devices/), [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- technologies: [The devices that do the restoring, and who pays for them](https://onco.cc/technologies/rejuv-rehab-assistive-devices/), [Voice after the larynx is removed](https://onco.cc/technologies/rejuv-recon-voice-after-laryngectomy/), [Voice prostheses after laryngectomy (Provox, Blom-Singer)](https://onco.cc/technologies/voice-prostheses/)
- companies: [Atos Medical](https://onco.cc/companies/atos-medical/)

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