Endoscopic video swallow research and swallowing difficulties is the topic for today. If you think you may have dysphagia, there are certain symptoms that may be present along with difficulty swallowing. They include: drooling, a hoarse voice, feeling that something is lodged in the throat, regurgitation, unexpected weight loss, heartburn, coughing or choking when swallowing, pain when swallowing, difficulty chewing solid foods. These sensations may cause a person to avoid eating, skip meals, or lose their appetite. In severe cases, you may be admitted to the hospital and given food through a feeding tube. This special tube goes right into the stomach and bypasses the esophagus. Modified diets may also be necessary until the swallowing difficulty improves. This prevents dehydration and malnutrition.

Consideration for the underlying neurophysiological impairment is necessary for understanding swallow function and deficits. Different management approaches may be necessary for individuals with dysphagia that has resulted from an acute event, chronic/stable condition, or progressive neurological disorder. Treatment targeting a specific function or structure may also affect function in other structures. Treatment of dysphagia may include restoration of normal swallow function (rehabilitative), modifications to diet consistency and patient behavior (compensatory), or some combination of these two approaches. Find additional info on Swallowing disorders.

Dysphagia means difficulty with chewing or swallowing food or liquid. The dysphagia diet covers 5 levels for difficulty in swallowing. To understand how this might happen, it is important to know something about how swallowing occurs. First, food must be chewed thoroughly. Then it is moved to the back of the mouth by tightening the cheek muscles and pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth. From this point on the process becomes automatic — it is a reflex that people do not actively control. In “rapid- fire” succession, the soft palate closes the nasal airway to prevent food from backing into it, the airway into the lungs is closed, and the esophagus (food pipe) relaxes allowing food and liquid to enter it. The muscular esophagus then contracts in a wave-like action, sweeping the food along into the stomach.

We offer Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES), a gold-standard, evidence-based procedure that can be performed at the patient’s bedside with no barium consumption or radiation exposure. Using the flexible endoscope, we’re able to visualize the swallow in a patient’s natural eating environment to assess swallowing function. FEES is a cost-effective alternative to Modified Barium Swallow Studies (MBSS) at 1/4 of the price with no transportation or mileage costs to your facility. See extra info at dysphagiainmotion.com.