Page 243 - Clinical Manual of Small Animal Endosurgery

Chapter 8

Endoscopy of the

Upper Respiratory

Tract: Rhinosinusoscopy,

Pharyngoscopy and

Tracheoscopy

David S. Sobel

Introduction

Endoscopy of the rhinarium, paranasal sinuses, pharynx and trachea
comprises a set of procedures quickly and easily mastered by even the
most novice endoscopists, providing significant diagnostic information
to the clinician. Diagnostic procedures can be easily and confidently
carried out in most first-opinion general small animal practices and, with
experience, interventional procedures can effectively be performed.
Rhinoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the rhinarium including
the nasal conchae and meati. This logically extends to sinusoscopy, in
particular the endoscopic examination of the frontal sinuses. Pharyngos-
copy can be performed both in a trans-oral fashion as well as via the
ventral nasal meatus through the posterior nares. And finally, tracheos-
copy is usually performed from a trans-oral approach. Rigid endoscopy
is ill-suited for examination or intervention in the distal third of the
trachea and more distal portions of the bronchial tree beyond the carina.
Advantages to endoscopic examination of these anatomic locales
include the ability to directly visualise structures otherwise inaccessible

Clinical Manual of Small Animal Endosurgery, First Edition. Edited by Alasdair Hotston Moore and
Rosa Angela Ragni.
© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2012 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.