What is laryngoscopy

What is laryngoscopy
 

Laryngoscopy is a commonly used diagnosis and treatment technique for laryngeal diseases, which can be used to observe the laryngeal cavity with an endoscope, and can be used to perform intralaryngeal surgery or other laryngeal treatment, which can usually be divided into three types: indirect laryngoscopy, direct laryngoscopy and fiber laryngoscopy.
 

1. Indirect laryngoscopy: It is the simplest and most convenient examination method in the outpatient clinic, usually with a piece of sterile gauze to pull the patient's tongue out, with the help of the doctor's frontoscope or headlamp, the indirect laryngoscope is placed in the patient's oropharynx to observe the hypopharynx and larynx in the mirror. This method may be limited by the degree of cooperation of the patient, and deep structures such as the glottis or bilateral piriform fossa cannot be well observed, but indirect laryngoscopy is the first choice for initial screening of otolaryngology diagnosis and treatment because of its simplicity and ease.
 

2. Direct laryngoscopy: direct laryngoscopy is not a routine examination method of the larynx, it is the use of a rigid laryngoscope through the oral cavity to penetrate into the larynx, and place the larynx and the oral cavity on the same line, so as to directly see the laryngeal structure and make up for the lack of indirect laryngoscopy to observe the larynx. Due to the development of fiberoptic laryngoscopy, direct laryngoscopy is rarely used for outpatient examination, and is mostly used in laryngeal surgery and endotracheal intubation in the operating room.

3. Fiber laryngoscope: At present, the most commonly used light guide fiber endoscopy in otolaryngology is composed of a thin and soft laryngoscope body, a cold light source and electronic accessories; The mirror can be inserted through one nostril or through the mouth to magnify and fully observe the morphological structure and lesions of the upper airway (including the nasal cavity, nasopharynx, hypopharynx and larynx) on the screen. At the same time, secretion aspiration, culture sampling, pathological biopsy and other related examinations can be performed. Because of its convenient operation and low pain, it has become a common examination method in otolaryngology outpatient clinics.
 

The laryngoscope can observe the throat for inflammation, ulcers, scars, new organisms, foreign body retention and vocal cord activity, and can take biopsies of new laryngeal organisms and lesions suspected of malignancy, and perform pathological examinations to assist in diagnosis. In addition, vocal cord polyp removal and pharyngeal foreign body removal can also be performed.