New Therapy for Swallowing Disorder
Now Offered at Coastal Carolina Medical Center

oastal Carolina Medical Center recently introduced an innovative new treatment for patients who suffer from dysphagia, a painful and often debilitating swallowing disorder. Two of the hospital’s team members – Florry Gibbes, M.Ed/CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist and Wendy Avery, MS, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist – were recently certified in this technique.

As many as 15 million Americans suffer from dysphagia, with one million new patients diagnosed annually. The disorder affects 50-75% of all stroke patients, 60-70% of patients who undergo radiation therapy for head and neck cancer and an estimated 90% of patients who suffer from neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and ALS.

The condition is especially prevalent among older adults. Studies suggest that up to 75 % of nursing home residents experience some degree of dysphagia and that as many as half of all Americans will experience dysphagia at some point after the age of 60. The disorder can lead to complications such as choking, bronchospasm, increased infection rate, chronic malnutrition, life-threatening dehydration, significant weight loss, physical debilitation, social isolation and even death.

Known as VitalStim® Therapy, the treatment uses non-invasive electrical stimulation to help re-educate the throat muscles needed for swallowing. Cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, VitalStim® Therapy is applied externally and delivers small electrical currents to the neck to stimulate inactive or atrophied swallowing muscles. With repeated therapy, throat muscles are re-trained until the patient reaches an optimum level of swallow function.

For more information about this new therapy offered at Coastal Carolina Medical Center, please contact Florry Gibbes (784-8069), or Wendy Avery (784-8164).