Last Thursday Kaitlyn had a modified barium swallow study done. We had to be downtown at the Children's Hospital at 10 am to check in and register for our 11 am appointment. Unfortunately they were running behind, so they didn't call us back until 11:45.
The test was performed by a radiologist and a speech pathologist. They made a mixture of juice and barium for Kaitlyn to drink from her bottle. This is the second time we have done this procedure (first was at 6 weeks) and again she drank it like a champ. She was overall pretty unhappy being there, so the first few minutes were tough - trying to get her to sit down in the chair so they could x-ray. But the poor girl was thirsty and finally settled down and drank. They got to see some good swallows, but she was not interested in eating any food.
All in all, they were pleased with what they saw. They did see some instances of penetration (when the liquid goes into the trachea and stays above the vocal cords) but no instances of aspiration. They indicated that the penetration was likely occurring because she was drinking so fast and that if she transitioned to a straw, that would help. In addition, they told us not to let her lean her head back too much while drinking.
I guess good news that they didn't see any problems with her ability to swallow. We were done in 15 minutes. $1,000 well spent?
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