What is transnasal esophagoscopy?

Transnasal esophagoscopy (TNE) is a way to look at the throat and esophagus without using sedation; the TNE camera is very small and goes in through the nose. Watch otolaryngologist Jonathan Aviv, MD, explain this procedure and whom it's best for.

Transcript

00:00

Here, without sedation, you could look at the esophagus without stimulating the gag reflex.

00:06

[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:13

Transnasal esophagoscopy, or TNE. T stands for trans, N stands for nasal,

00:21

E stands for esophagoscopy-- that's why it's easier to say TNE. TNE is a way to look at the throat, and the esophagus

00:31

in particular, without using any type of sedation. All you need to do the TNE is a little numbing medicine

00:39

in the nose. The TNE camera is very, very small. It's like a piece of spaghetti.

00:45

And actually, I have it right here in my hand. And you can see-- and I'll do it against my cheek--

00:51

that the TNE camera is very, very tiny. And we could move it up or down. So we could go through this sensitive tissues in the nose,

01:00

wind down into the throat, and then right into the esophagus. This is a way to look at the esophagus

01:08

without stimulating the gag reflex. This takes relatively minutes to perform, ultra safe, and it gives you the answers you need.

01:17

So who is a candidate for TNE? The 60 million people out there who have heartburn and throatburn-- meaning

01:25

chronic cough, hoarseness, a lump-like sensation in the throat, or frequent throat clearing-- are candidates to have their esophagus looked

01:34

at without using any type of sedation. People say, can you look at the stomach tube?

01:41

Can you look at the small intestine tube? The answer is no. In fact, there are contraindications to TNE.

01:48

Someone with a history of ulcer disease in the stomach or duodenum, which is the small intestine,

01:55

or someone that has a history of abdominal pain or nausea, they are not candidates for the unsedated exam, or a TNE.

02:03

They must have a sedated endoscopy to look, in particular, at the stomach and the small intestine.