Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing

FEES assesses swallowing without X-rays. A FEES also shows how well a person swallows his/her saliva, and can show if secretions (saliva), liquids, or foods are aspirated. No preparation is necessary for the test, which takes about 10 minutes.

The Process

A small, flexible, custom-designed scope attached to a camera is passed through the nose into the middle of the throat. The speech language pathologist records pictures of the throat and voice box as patients swallow liquid and foods. 

During the test, the speech-language pathologist may ask the patient to try various postures, such as tucking the chin, to see if swallowing improves.