Dysphagia

A member of your healthcare team will likely ask you for a description and history of your swallowing difficulties, perform a physical exam, and use various tests to find the cause of your swallowing problem.

Tests can include:

• X-ray with a contrast material, called a barium X-ray. You drink a barium solution that coats the esophagus, making it easier to see on X-rays. A healthcare team can then see changes in the shape of the esophagus and can check the muscular activity.

  You also may be asked to swallow solid food or a pill coated with barium. This allows the healthcare team to watch the muscles in the throat during swallowing or to look for blockages in the esophagus that the liquid barium solution might not show.

• Dynamic swallowing study. This study involves swallowing barium-coated foods of different consistencies. It provides an image of these foods as they travel down the throat. The images might show problems in the coordination of the mouth and throat muscles during swallowing. The images also can show if food is going into the breathing tube.
• Endoscopy. Endoscopy involves passing a thin, flexible lighted instrument, called an endoscope, down the throat. This allows your healthcare team to see your esophagus. Tissue samples, called biopsies, may be collected. The samples are studied to look for inflammation, eosinophilic esophagitis, narrowing or a tumor.
• Fiber-optic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). During a FEES study, a healthcare professional examines the throat with an endoscope during swallowing.
• Esophageal muscle test, called manometry. In manometry (muh-NOM-uh-tree), a small tube is inserted into the esophagus and connected to a pressure recorder to measure the muscle contractions of the esophagus during swallowing.
• Imaging scans. These can include a CT scan or an MRI scan. A CT scan combines a series of X-ray views and computer processing to create cross-sectional images of the body’s bones and soft tissues. An MRI scan uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissues.