Dysphagia is a common condition experienced following a stroke. Northeast Florida Medicine notes that the condition may vary from pain while swallowing to tremendous difficulty swallowing certain consistencies of food and drink to aspiration of what is taken in orally into the airways, leading to pneumonia. Several options for treatment are available when physical and speech therapies have failed.
Initial Exam
The doctor will perform an exam to gauge the level of swallowing difficulty experienced by the stroke patient within a few days of the incident. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders suggest that the doctor will employ the expert advice of a speech pathologist to evaluate the effectiveness of speech and physical therapies. Then, to accurately test for problems with the swallowing mechanism, the doctor requires a tool called the laryngoscopy--a lighted tube with a camera attached to the tip-in order to adequately locate and ultrasound, a type of imaging process, to decide the level of the problem and make determinations about follow-up care. Surgery or medication may be discussed at this juncture, along with any instructions for altering the consistency or temperature of food and drink for easier means of nourishment.
Surgery
Surgery may also be considered in circumstances where the patient is unable to take anything by mouth and other methods of treatment have not been working. In this situation, the doctor will surgically insert a feeding tube system into the abdomen reaching the stomach. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, this method bypasses the mouth and swallowing mechanism altogether and allows the body to maintain adequate nutrition through a tube.
Medication
Certain medications can be implemented for swallowing issues following a stroke. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke notes that botulinum toxin injections--botox--is the typical product of choice in assisting to open the esophageal walls in an effort to ease swallowing and to get food and drink into the stomach.
