Having a nasendoscopy

A nasendoscopy is a procedure that lets a speech and language therapist see your throat while you swallow.

The procedure shows:

• whether any food or drink goes down the wrong way (into your airway)
• what happens to any food or drink left in your throat after you swallow

Preparing for the procedure

There is nothing that you need to do to prepare for having a nasendoscopy.

The procedure is usually done on the hospital ward at your bedside and takes about 20 minutes. Otherwise, you may have an outpatient appointment for this procedure, which will be done in a clinic room.

Giving your permission (consent)

We want to involve you in decisions about your care and treatment. If you decide to have a nasendoscopy, we will ask you to give spoken (verbal) consent. You need to confirm that you understand what is involved and agree to have the procedure.

You can read more about our consent process.

During the procedure

A nasendoscopy is made up of the following steps:

1. The speech and language therapist puts a small tube called a nasendoscope into your nostril. They pass the tube gently backwards until it sits just above your soft palate (roof of the mouth) and near the side and back walls of your throat. This should not be painful but the tube often feels a bit uncomfortable as it passes through your nose.
2. The tube has a bright light and a tiny video camera at the end. This is directed down, so that the speech and language therapist can see your throat and voice box on a screen. They can then watch what happens in your throat when you swallow.
3. The speech and language therapist may ask you take sips of different drinks (often milk) and try various foods. This lets them see what happens as you swallow.

The drinks that you have during the procedure are dyed blue. This means that the speech and language therapist can easily see where they have gone. The dye is a natural food colouring used in cooking. Please tell your speech and language therapist if you have any allergies.

What you feel during the procedure

The tube may feel a little uncomfortable or tickle, but it should not hurt. Sometimes, if your nose is particularly narrow, the tube may be slightly more uncomfortable.

The test works best if you are relaxed. Your speech and language therapist tries to make the whole procedure as comfortable as possible.

After the procedure

There is no recovery period after having a nasendoscopy and you do not need to follow any instructions.

You may get some feedback during the procedure from your speech and language therapist. The swallowing test is recorded. Your speech and language therapist reviews it in more detail after the procedure.

Your speech and language therapist talks to you about any more recommendations at your next session with them. They also put a report in your medical notes.

There are no known problems related to having a nasendoscopy. If you have a question or concern, please speak to your speech and language therapist.

The recording

The speech and language therapy department keeps the recording of the swallowing test. It may be used for teaching purposes but your name and any identifying details are removed.

Please tell us if you do not want this to happen. This will not affect your care in any way.

Your follow-up care

If you are staying in hospital, the speech and language therapist will give you feedback within 24 hours of the procedure.

If you are going home after the procedure, you will be given a follow-up appointment to see the speech and language therapist. This appointment will be within 2 weeks of the procedure. The details will either be:

• agreed with you on the day of the procedure
• sent to you in the post