Need guidance with laryngectomy decision

Saw my head and neck ENT surgeon yesterday. Let me lay a little foundation for this topic. I was treated back in 2004 for BOT SCC. I had 5 sessions of chemo and 38 radiation treatments. I've been clear of cancer ever since. The consequences of radiation however, have given me a fit.

I started having to have dilations for an esophageal stricture back in 2007. I was having them every 4 to 6 weeks to keep the esophagus open. In the meantime, my whole neck has hardened quite a bit due to the radiation. In January of 2011, my gum on the left side of the mandible began to open and expose the bone. This, theoretically, was not supposed to happen since I had all my teeth pulled before the Rad treatments. The gum kept opening more and more and in June, I had surgery to remove part of the jaw and replace it with part of my fibula.

After a month or so, they determined that the bone graft failed and went back in and took the bone out but left the titanium plate in place. After another month, a screw started working loose so they went back in again and took out the plate leaving me with a swinging partial jawbone. During this period of surgeries, I didn't have any dilations. The stricture is now closed completely and will not stay open. A couple weeks ago, my gastroenterologist finally gave up. We tried dilations every 2 weeks to no avail. A stent was considered but deemed not viable.

Right now, I can't even swallow what little saliva I produce. I still have the "temporary" tracheostomy in place. I have a disfigured face that maybe I'll get up enough nerve to post as an avatar (just to scare ya). My throat is rock hard with one less working carotid artery because the left external one busted due to calcification during the first surgery and had to be capped off.

So, my ENT tells me about a laryngectomy, which I had already been thinking about. He's not real keen on operating on me in that area because of the condition of my neck. I asked him whether he had ever done the operation on any other patients with a neck like mine. He told me that he had 2 patients that fit that bill. He said both of them are doing very well.

I want very desperately to be able to eat something again, even if it is only mashed potatoes and puddings. What scares me is my luck. The only thing I've been lucky about is still being alive after the BOT, a Malignant Melanoma on my shoulder and 2 SCC on my forehead. If one more thing bad happens, I'm afraid I will implode.

I know there are at least a few of you out there with laryngectomies. What I need to know is, was your neck in the same condition as mine when you had your surgeries and how your operations turned out. I appreciate you taking time to read all this. I hope at least one of you has an answer. I just don't know what to do.