Modified Barium Swallow

A modified barium swallow is the same procedure as for barium swallow but is usually performed by the speech pathologist team. It will visualise your mouth, throat and oesophagus through to your stomach. This procedure will help to assess what types of foods and liquids are easier for you to swallow and determine the risk of aspiration on certain consistencies of food. It can also provide information on what exercises will be of benefit to the patient and ways to help you swallow more easily.
You may have been referred to have a modified barium swallow due to:

• Have globus (feeling of food "stuck in the throat"),
• Are not able to accept/tolerate Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES),
• Have suspected oral stage problems (problems keeping food/liquid in the mouth or moving food/liquid around the mouth) that should be imaged,
• Have oesophageal stage problems (problems with food/liquid moving through the oesophagus to the stomach) or suspicion of reflux,
• Have difficulty speaking or swallowing food without inhaling, or aspirating, it into the windpipe.

It is important to inform a member of staff as soon as possible if you are pregnant or suspect you are pregnant BEFORE the test is performed. The examination may not be appropriate or special considerations or precautions might need to be taken.

You may be lying on an x-ray examination table or seated in a chair.
You will consume barium-containing liquids of varying consistencies. The items range from thin liquid to semisolid foods (for example, applesauce) or solid foods (such as a marshmallow).

As you swallow the different items, we will take images and observe the swallowing process in order to determine which foods are difficult for you to swallow and if it is due to a structural problem.
The examination takes a series of pictures (like a film) and your swallowing process may be observed at normal speed or in slow motion.

It is imperative that you remain still for the examination. The examination can take 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete.

The speech pathologist will evaluate your swallowing ability and make some suggestions and possible corrective actions.

For safety reasons there cannot be anyone in the room during the procedure and relatives must wait outside. A radiographer will be behind the glass window a short distance away watching the patient at all times during the scan should there be any concerns.