What is Mobile FEES?
Mobile Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)
FEES is a diagnostic swallow study used for evaluating the swallowing function for patients with dysphagia.
Procedures are completed at the patient’s bedside in a medical, home health, or skilled nursing facility with a physician or nursing staff readily available. During the procedure, a flexible endoscope is introduced transnasally to the patient’s hypopharynx where the speech-language pathologist can clearly view the structures used for swallowing foods and liquids. Food and liquid textures are given to the patient so that the integrity of the swallowing can be determined.
FEES has been shown to be safe and effective for swallowing evaluation. Multiple research articles have also repeatedly proven that FEES is just as accurate with even better sensitivity and specificity than a hospital videofluoroscopic swallow study (or MBSS).