BATON ROUGE - Treatment for swallowing disorders depends on the cause of the problem, making it essential to get the correct diagnosis.

Swallowing can become difficult for some people who suffer from trauma, certain medical conditions, and head and neck cancers.

"We have over 50 paired muscles that make up the entire swallowing continuum proper strength of the muscles, proper timing of all of these little movements that happen in one second,” Mayo Clinic speech pathologist Jessica Gregor said.

However, for some, swallowing isn't so easy. Swallowing safety and efficiency can become compromised for some people who suffer from head and neck cancers or trauma.

"So the patient can have safety issues. So food and liquid can be entering their airway on a pretty routine basis. So those are real serious safety issues,” Gregor said.

In order to determine the best treatment option, patients must undergo a comprehensive workup, which includes a speech pathologist, a gastroenterologist, and an ear, nose and throat specialist.

"The best evaluation for really looking at the road map of swallow is called video fluoroscopy. That's using X-ray and watching a live video of your swallow under X-ray. We look from lips to
stomach. It's important for us as the team to have a very solid understanding of the swallowing impairment so that we can best intervene appropriately,” Gregor said.

Advanced treatment options exist, including innovative endoscopic and minimally invasive surgical treatments for disorders of the mouth, throat and esophagus.