In speech pathology and medicine, nasoendoscopy is the

endoscopic An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike many other medical imaging techniques, endoscopes are insert ...

examination of the

velopharynx In speech pathology and medicine, nasoendoscopy is the endoscopy, endoscopic examination of the velopharynx, or the nose, often with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the nostril. It can provide information to ...

, or the

nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes th ...

, often with a

CCD camera A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...

or a

fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

camera on a flexible tube passed through the

nostril A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbi ...

. It can provide information to evaluate speech and velopharyngeal function or dysfunction, as in diseases such as sinonasal carcinomas.

Procedure

Indications

After removal of nasal packing following

epistaxis A nosebleed, also known as epistaxis, is bleeding from the nose. Blood can flow down into the stomach, and cause nausea and vomiting. In more severe cases, blood may come out of both nostrils. Rarely, bleeding may be so significant that low bloo ...

, routine nasoendoscopy is not necessarily indicated. However, widely accepted indications for nasoendoscopy include: *abnormal speech characteristics: hypernasal resonance, excessive nasal airflow including nasal air escape and nasal turbulence (also called nasal rustle), and absence of or weak intra-oral air pressure for oral pressure consonants; *limited progress with speech therapy to establish oral pressure sounds; *difficulty maintaining intra-oral air pressure and velopharyngeal closure during speech; *patient has known or suspected abnormality of palate or velopharynx; and, *patient is being considered for pharyngoplasty, maxillary advancement or speech prosthesis.

Contraindications, complications, and safety

No absolute contraindications exist for nasoendoscopy; and, while the procedure is relatively safe, the exact risk of the procedure depends on the skill and experience of the endoscope operator.Tabaee A., Hsu A. K., Kacker A. (2011.) "Indications, technique, safety, and accuracy of office-based nasal endoscopy with biopsy for sinonasal neoplasm", ''Int Forum Allergy Rhinol'', 1(3):225-8.

References

External links

Nasendoscopy
- Macmillan Cancer Support {{Procedures on the mouth and pharynx Endoscopy Medical diagnosis Nose Speech and language pathology