Transcription:
Announcer:
Oropharyngeal Dysphagia affects an estimated 3 million Americans with 3-6 hundred thousand new cases diagnosed each year.
Doctor: Peter G. Belfasky, MD PhD
Dysphasia is simply defined as problem swallowing. Oropharyngeal Dysphagia is a little more specific than that, it’s specifically a problem of swallowing in relationship to the tongue and pharynx or throat muscles. Several treatments include diet modification as well as swallowing problem severe enough the treatment may include placing a peg tube which is a swallowing tube placed in the stomach.
Announcer:
Now, there is new hope for people suffering with this type of dysphagia. The Chattanooga group has brought to market a safe and effective neuromuscular electrical stimulation system called VitalStim® Therapy design to reeducate the muscles used in swallowing
Therapist: Jan Spears, MS SLP
The therapy works by stimulating the nerve that goes to the muscles. In our case, the muscles on the neck, that is, the muscles in swallowing- and causes them to contract.
Therapist: Marcy Freed, SLP
The average number of sessions that an individual needs is based on the severity of their dysphagia but most people can get their dysphagia resolved within 14 sessions of electrical stimulation.
Mother: Stephanie and Jordon Bodger
My son Jordan was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 7 ½ months old and he had the brain tumor removed but there were complications from the surgery. Since that time, he has not been able to eat anything by his mouth. We began the treatment with VitalStim 6 weeks ago and he is now able to eat chocolate milk and Rice Crispy® treats and all kinds of other things he enjoys.
Announcer:
Innovative treatment approaches like this can help make our medical challenges easier to swallow.