A nasal endoscopy (aka nasoendoscopy) is a scope throught the nose and throat region. It allows the assessment of the:
1. Nasal cavity
2. Part of drainage pathway of the sinuses
3. Throat and voicebox region
Usually a nasoendoscopy is recommended when there are:
1. Troublesome or persistent nasal symptoms (e.g. blocked nose, runny nose, sneezing, postnasal drip, loss of sense of smell, nosebleed etc)
2. Troublesome or persistent throat symptoms (e.g. chronic sore throat, hoarse voice, cough, painful swallowing, difficulty swallowing, feeling of something stuck in the throat
3. Ear symptoms which may be related to a problem in the nose or throat region (e.g. fluid behind the eardrum due to an infection in the nose or sinuses or due to a cancer at the back of the nose).
4.Suspicions of cancer in the nose or head & neck region
If your sore throat is associated with some worrisome symptoms e.g. blood-stained phlegm or saliva, has been longer than 1 month, is associated with hoarse voice or difficulty in swallowing, your ENT Specialist is more likely to recommend a nasoendoscopy. If you have risk factors for cancer e.g. heavy smoker or heavy alcohol consumption, again your ENT Specialist will be more likely to recommend a nasoendoscopy.
The procedure itself is often painless and is done under local anaesthesia (nose numbed and decongested with a nose spray). The whole process usually takes less than 3 minutes in my practice and can be tolerated in children as young as 4 years old.
As a nasoendoscopy is considered a Day Surgery procedure with a table code of 1A, it may be insurance claimable (depending on your coverage) or medisave claimable.
Hope this helps and all the best!
