Laryngoscopy is an examination of the Voice box-the Larynx and vocal cords with a fibre optic laryngoscope. There are two types of laryngoscopy, and each uses different equipment.
Indirect laryngoscopy
Indirect laryngoscopy is done in the ENT clinic using a small hand mirror held at the back of the throat. Your doctor shines a light in your mouth and wears a mirror on his or her head to reflect light to the back of your throat. This is not done any more by most ENT surgeons as the gag reflex doesn\’t allow the patient to cooperate fully.
Direct fiber-optic (flexible or rigid) laryngoscopy
Direct laryngoscopy lets your doctor see deeper into your throat with a fiber-optic scope. The scope is either flexible or rigid. Flexible scopes show the throat better and are more comfortable for you. Rigid scopes are also used in surgery.
Indications
An indirect or direct laryngoscopy helps the ENT Surgeon to
and Find the cause of voice problems, such as a breathy voice, hoarse voice, weak voice, or no voice.
and Find the cause of throat and ear pain.
and Find the cause for difficulty in swallowing, a feeling of a lump in the throat, or mucus with blood in it.
and Check injuries to the throat, narrowing of the throat (strictures), or blockages in the airway.
and Detect any foreign bodies like fish bone
Direct rigid laryngoscopy may be used as a surgical procedure to remove foreign objects in the throat, collect tissue samples (biopsy), remove polyps or vocal nodules from the vocal cords, or perform laser treatment. Direct rigid laryngoscopy may also be used to help find cancer of the larynx.
How it is done?
Direct rigid and flexible laryngoscopy examinations are generally done in the ENT Clinic after spraying the nose and throat with Xylocaine spray. The entire procedure takes only 10 minutes or so. The Endoscope is attached to a CCD camera connected to a monitor and the patient also can see what\’s wrong in the throat.
The patient can eat and drink after 10-15minutes, after the effect of local anesthetic worn off.
(See picture)
