Dysphagia, a condition of impaired swallowing ability, causes serious consequences such as malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, and even death, greatly affecting the quality of life and increasing treatment costs. This condition is common in the elderly, patients with head and neck cancer, after stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurological diseases.
With the increasing number of elderly people and chronic non-communicable diseases, swallowing disorders are becoming an alarming problem. However, awareness of early diagnosis, timely intervention and individualized management for patients is still not properly appreciated.
To address this issue, on January 8, Military Hospital 175 organized a scientific workshop on “Raising awareness of swallowing disorders management” and officially launched the Swallowing Disorders Management Unit under the Department of Neurology. The event aimed to update knowledge and share experiences in this field with medical staff in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces.
As the caregiver of her sister with swallowing disorders at Military Hospital 175 for more than a month, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen (living in District 12) said that initially, her sister had a stroke and it led to complications of swallowing disorders, losing the ability to chew and even swallow saliva."But after being treated at the hospital, my sister can eat congee, drink water and can move her arms and legs," Ms. Huyen said.
Associate Professor, Dr., BSCKII Truong Dinh Cam, Deputy Director of Military Hospital 175, emphasized that the establishment of the Swallowing Disorders Management Unit is a strategic step, affirming the hospital's determination to improve the quality of management and care for patients with swallowing disorders.The hospital hopes to receive attention, cooperation and support from medical experts, organizations and the community.
“The unit has invested in human resources trained domestically and internationally, along with modern equipment such as an endoscopic system for diagnosing swallowing disorders, a biofeedback electrical stimulation machine for swallowing rehabilitation, a speech therapy room, and specialized rehabilitation.The unit will focus on diagnosis, in-depth assessment, personalized treatment, swallowing rehabilitation, training, scientific research, and international cooperation,” Mr. Cam affirmed.
