This afternoon, just after work, the patient’s family member, Mrs. Niu, came to the physician’s office with great enthusiasm and said to me, “Director Wu, our old cow had his stomach tube removed at noon today! He even ate a big bowl of dumplings. I informed my friends and family of the good news, and they were all worried about it for a while. They all asked me how I cured him, and I told them that it was thanks to Director Wu of the Rehabilitation Department that our old cow was removed from the stomach tube so quickly! Director Wu, thank you so much! We were in so much pain those days that we were afraid to go home with the gastric tube, thanks to you …… Speaking of this, Mrs. Niu’s eyes were full of wetness. 1, saliva are difficult to swallow, the patient suffering the whole family anxious Niu brother 50 years old, in the past, the body times great, even cold medicine are rarely eaten. In a checkup accidentally found a little high blood pressure, the doctor told him to pay attention to continuous monitoring of blood pressure, if necessary, oral medication. He felt nothing uncomfortable and didn’t pay much attention to it. One day, more than 20 days ago, he suddenly became dizzy, his speech was slurred, and his right side limbs were inflexible, so his family rushed him to the city People’s Hospital, where he was confirmed to have a “brain stem infarction” after a cranial magnetic resonance examination. After being admitted to the hospital, after careful treatment by clinicians, Brother Niu was released from life-threatening conditions and his condition gradually stabilized. Although the family was relieved for the time being, a realistic problem was next in front of them: he could not eat from the mouth, and even the saliva in his mouth could not be swallowed, but had to spit out constantly. The family was puzzled, how could they not be able to eat? The doctor told them that this is a special type of brainstem infarction called “dorsolateral medullary syndrome”, the main problem is swallowing difficulties, serious patients need to carry a gastric tube for life. Hearing this, the whole family’s faces were filled with sad clouds and the future was bleak. Looking at Brother Niu, who could not swallow saliva, his sister-in-law looked at him with anxiety and often wiped her tears in secret …… 2. 5 times of balloon dilatation, the gastric tube was removed with joy A few days later, according to Brother Niu’s condition, the physician in charge asked the rehabilitation medicine department to consult and contact him for treatment of his swallowing difficulties. After a detailed swallowing function examination, the consultation concluded that Brother Niu’s cricopharyngeal muscle failure was due to dorsolateral medullary syndrome, and recommended that the patient undergo catheter balloon dilation, along with swallowing function electrical stimulation therapy device and ice stimulation. After all the preparations were made, the swallowing team of the rehabilitation department started to perform the catheter balloon dilation treatment on Brother Niu. On the first day, we used a small balloon for experimental dilation and the balloon passed smoothly, so we gave a 5ml balloon for repeated dilation five times. The process went smoothly. On the second day, we increased the diameter of the dilatation and gave 2 spoons of yogurt at the end of the expansion, which was swallowed smoothly and he was able to eat 1 small cup of crushed ice. On the third day, the balloon diameter was increased again and the yogurt diet was trained immediately after the expansion. The family began to see hope …… on the fourth day, continue to increase the diameter, after the expansion of the patient can eat a lot of paste food from the mouth, the family’s feeling of victory is in sight, feel close to the removal of the gastric tube is not far. By the end of the fifth dilatation, Brother Niu was able to eat most of his diet through the mouth. In view of the basic improvement in swallowing function, the clinician removed the gastric tube, which led to the scene at the beginning …… On the day of discharge, Mrs. Niu and Brother Niu came to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine to thank them and express their gratitude. After informing Brother Niu of some follow-up training methods and some safety matters that he still needed to pay attention to in his daily life, Brother Niu’s face showed a long-lost smile. He said excitedly, “Fortunately, I met you, so that I can resume eating via mouth and taste the real taste of rice. The key is to build up confidence in recovery, contact rehabilitation treatment as early as possible, and use modern scientific methods to clarify the area where the swallowing disorder arises and carry out targeted rehabilitation treatment so that you can remove the stomach tube as soon as possible, recover your health and improve your quality of life.