epiglottis removal

My husband has his epiglottis removed in December of 2008, even after speech therapy and swallowing tests, he is unable to eat and everything must go thru a g-tube.  I thought I heard something about electrodes being used to 'trick' the trachea into swallowing properly.  Has anyone heard of this proceedure? I thought it was done at Loyola in Chicago. (his cancer started at the base of his tongue and no, he never smoked) 

I lost my almost all of my epiglottis in the spring of '08. Only a stump remains. I am still not sure of whether the surgeon cut it out during debulking of base of tongue tumor or the radiation cooked it. I was on a feeding tube for 9 months using liquids only for fear of aspiration. Gradually, with the help of a speech therapist, I learned techniques of chewing and swallowing without aspirating. Dry mouth prevents me from a normal diet, but I can eat many more foods now than I could at the end of treatment.

You can do it with time and patience. All the docs I spoke to say you can relearn to eat solid food without an epiglottis. Best of luck to you.

Saul