Patient Comfort and Anesthesia

With a trained, experienced SLP passing the endoscope, discomfort is minimized as the endoscope is passed transnasally. Majority of patients typically describe the sensation asweird” or “odd” rather than one of pain.

Once the scope is in place, most patients show no sign of discomfort.  Research indicates patients are willing to repeat the procedure.

SuperiorView Swallow Diagnostics utilizes 3.6mm nasopharyngoscopes for comfort and are smaller than the diameter of your index finger. 

Multiple studies have shown no significant difference in swallowing performance between non-anesthetized patients and those anesthetized with lidocaine.  High levels of topical anesthesia has been shown to negatively affect swallow performance.

See the Research Resources page for study specific articles.