Patients are at risk for developing a swallowing disorder for a variety of reasons. Diagnoses which may place you at elevated risk include head and neck cancer, stroke, progressive neurological disease, COPD, tracheostomy, malnutrition and aging.
• Aspiration – any food or liquids which passes below your vocal cords and into your lungs.
• Modified Barium Swallowing Examination (MBSE) – a test performed in the xray department that provides moving images of food and liquids traveling from your mouth to your throat and into your esophagus.
• Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing – a procedure where a small flexible endoscope is passed through your nose and into your throat to visualize the swallowing process as you eat.