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Health Dictionary

Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

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Dysphagia endoscopy

Introduction

Overview

Overview

FEES and VFSS may be helpful in the diagnosis of dysphagia. The FEES uses a transnasal laryngoscope, and swallowing is directly evaluated by using measured quantities of food colored with blue liquid dye and compared before and after swallowing.

Endoscopy

Endoscopy

Flexible fiberoptic endoscopic examination of swallowing (FEES)

Indications

FEES is indicated in

  • In critically ill patients.
  • Patients who cannot be transferred to the fluoroscopy room.
  • Patients who require prompt evaluation.

Procedure

  • A scope is passed through the nasal cavity to evaluate nasopharynx, laryngopharynx, and hypopharynx.
  • If no structural abnormalities are seen, pharyngeal response is tested before and after swallowing.
  • A normal endoscopy is followed by manometry.

Interpretation of FEES

The endoscopy findings for dysphagia are as follows:[1][2]

  • Middle and lower biopsies of the esophagus should be taken with the intention of excluding eosinophilic esophagitis.
  • Majority will be normal or demonstrates only mild erosive disease.
  • Structural abnormalities
Endoscopic image of peptic stricture, or narrowing of the esophagus near the junction with the stomach. This is a complication of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease, and can be a cause of dysphagia.
References

References

  1. ↑ Philpott, Hamish; Garg, Mayur; Tomic, Dunya; Balasubramanian, Smrithya; Sweis, Rami (2017). “Dysphagia: Thinking outside the box”. World Journal of Gastroenterology. 23 (38): 6942–6951. doi:10.3748/wjg.v23.i38.6942. ISSN 1007-9327.
  2. ↑ Scheurer U (1991). “[Dysphagia]”. Ther Umsch. 48 (3): 150–61. PMID 2042117.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Hamid Qazi, MD, BSc [2], Feham Tariq, MD [3]