@tmmmrlts Thank you for your comment. I did the best I could for my dad and he lived longer for it, so I have no regrets. They do swallowing studies with a moving x-ray to determine if a patient is swallowing safely. It could also be if there is a weakness that could cause aspiration, and they do a feeding tube to prevent it. A speech therapist works on strengthening exercises for swallowing. That didn't help my dad much because for him, it was a traumatic brain injury that caused the problem years earlier, and he had some minor strokes and he even got pneumonia from aspirating his own saliva. No one could prevent that, and we did nebulizer breathing treatments for his lungs. Yes, it is possible for a patient to get well enough to have a feeding tube removed. There can also be infections around where the tube exits the stomach wall and that must be kept clean and padded with gauze pads to prevent irritation. Medications (pills) are crushed and administered through the tube, and it is flushed with water afterward. You'll have to monitor appropriate food and fluid intake. Talk to the doctor about therapy that may help with swallowing. There is some discomfort for a few days after the procedure, but not bad pain. My dad did fine with it.