nevronas.gr – Christina G. Politi, speech therapist, master. Rehabilitation Sciences, President of the SELLE Scientific Committee

Dysphagia is a violation of the normal process of swallowing, i.e. the passage of food and liquid from the mouth to the stomach.

When parts of our brain are affected (for example, after a stroke or injury) or the cranial nerves responsible for swallowing, swallowing is impaired.

A person may have mild or severe swallowing problems.

Causes of dysphagia can be structural, neurological, or psychogenic. It is the result of various conditions such as central nervous system damage, syndromes or problems affecting the head and neck (eg cancer of the mouth or throat), etc.

The warning signs of a person who has difficulty swallowing – dysphagia – are varied, and these are:

Cough during or after swallowing, choking, wet/gurgling voice after swallowing, difficulty, fatigue or long time to digest food, repeated swallowing, sensation of food being stuck in the throat, refusal to eat (often in people with anorexia syndromes), weight loss, recurrent respiratory infections, etc.

Examination of a patient with impaired swallowing is carried out in several main stages:

• Clinical examination with medical and swallowing history by a speech pathologist specializing in dysphagia and an oral-facial examination.
  During this step, the therapist will collect information about the medical diagnosis and history of swallowing problems.
  He will also evaluate the person’s respiratory function and the functional and structural adequacy of all organs involved in swallowing: tongue, lips, teeth, larynx, etc.
• Observation of the patient during meals and swallowing tests with foods and liquids of different densities.
• Evaluation of swallowing using an objective swallowing test such as video radioscopy (VFSS – Video Fluoroscopic Swallowing Test) or endoscopic swallowing test (FEES – Fiber Optic Endoscopic Swallowing Assessment) in collaboration with medical specialists such as ORL and radiologist.
• Creation of a treatment plan.

Note: It should be noted that in the treatment of patients with swallowing disorders, a speech therapist specializing in dysphagia must work closely with many physicians and paramedical specialties, have the necessary knowledge of the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of swallowing, as well as academic training. and clinical experience in this area.