Among the possible complications for most cardiac surgical procedures, dysphagia, or trouble swallowing, is one of the most common. The condition can affect patient nutrition, lead to dehydration, and even cause aspiration pneumonia. And, though the latter is a major cause of mortality, it is preventative — with the right…
Emily Plowman, Ph.D., was awarded the 2021 Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship from the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or NINDS. Nominations for the Landis Award were initiated by current and former trainees. Plowman, an internationally recognized expert in the field of dysphagia, the medical term…
Importantly, presence of postoperative dysphagia was associated with a 43% longer hospital stay, about $50,000 increased cost of care, pneumonia, reintubation, and death.
