There are several ways your doctor may do this procedure:
Indirect laryngoscopy. This is the simplest form. Your doctor uses a small mirror and a light to look into your throat. The mirror is on a long handle, like the kind a dentist often uses, and its placed against the roof of your mouth.
The doctor shines a light into your mouth to see the image in the mirror. It can be done in a doctors office in just 5 to 10 minutes.
Youll sit in a chair while the exam is done. Your doctor might spray something into your throat to make it numb. Having something stuck in your throat might make you gag, however.
SUGGESTEDContinuedDirect fiber-optic laryngoscopy. Many doctors now do this kind, sometimes called flexible laryngoscopy. They use a small telescope at the end of a cable, which goes up your nose and down into your throat.
It takes less than 10 minutes. Youll get a numbing medication for your nose. Sometimes a decongestant is used to open your nasal passages as well. Gagging is a common reaction with this procedure as well.
ContinuedDirect laryngoscopy. This is the most involved type. Your doctor uses a laryngoscope to push down your tongue and lift up the epiglottis. Thats the flap of cartilage that covers your windpipe. It opens during breathing and closes during swallowing.
Your doctor can do this to remove small growths or samples of tissue for testing. They can also use this procedure to insert a tube into the windpipe to help someone breathe during an emergency or in surgery.
Direct laryngoscopy can take up to 45 minutes. Youll be given whats called general anesthesia, so that you will not be awake during the procedure. Your doctor can take out any growths in your throat or take a sample of something that might need to be checked more closely.