Surgical Management and Pearls of Geriatric Dysphagia (AMW) Session
2021 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
As medicine improves and there is increasing longevity, clinicians face an imminent need to understand physiological changes of aging. One of the most important is dysphagia due to significant quality-of-life implications, as well as risk of mortality. In this panel, we aim to arm the Otolaryngologist with the necessary tools to assess the geriatric patient with dysphagia. Emphasis will be on surgical options and patient selection as well as peri-operative care. Geriatric patients, who are not just old adults have unique differences from younger adults that require particular knowledge of these as they will determine outcomes. Specifically, thorough pre-operative evaluation is essential and unique in this population, therefore, concise information will be given to ensure easy application in any clinical setting. Prevention of delirium which is also more common in this age group will be explained. This panel will also review all surgical techniques and discuss each in detail. Technical refinements gained through years of experience will be shared.
Description
Learning Objective: 1. To understand the differences between a younger and an older adult with regards to etiology of dysphagia and pertinent peri-operative work-up. 2. To be able to effectively diagnose and manage causes of dysphagia more commonly seen in the older population, such as Cricopharyngeal dysfunction and Zenker’s diverticulum. 3. To be able to leave with a thorough understanding of all surgical techniques in the management of geriatric dysphagia and describe pearls and pitfalls of each. Faculty: David Eibling, MD(Nothing to Disclose), Ozlem Tulunay-Ugur, MD(Nothing to Disclose), Karen Kost, MD, FRCS(Consulting Fee: KayPENTAX).
