The aim of this study is to reduce pathologic aspiration and pneumonia in the perioperative period by providing an oral care and oral hygiene education to patients preoperatively. Patients enrolled in the study will be given a dysphagia screening questionnaire, an oral care package and oral hygiene education. Patients who screen positive for dysphagia will be referred to Speech Pathology for evaluation. The rate of postoperative pneumonia will be determined for those who participate in the study and will be compared to retrospective patient data from our institution.

Aspiration by high risk esophageal and lung cancer patients with either preexisting or post-therapy/post-operative dysphagia leads to morbidity (pneumonia) and mortality following surgery. The aim of this study is to reduce pathologic aspiration and pneumonia in the perioperative period by providing an oral care and oral hygiene education to patients preoperatively. Patients enrolled in the study will be given a dysphagia screening questionnaire, an oral care package and oral hygiene education. Patients who screen positive for dysphagia will be referred to Speech Pathology for evaluation. The rate of postoperative pneumonia will be determined for those who participate in the study and will be compared to retrospective patient data from our institution.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients undergoing elective esophageal or lung resections for cancer at our institution

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

After appropriate consent, patient charts will be reviewed by study members that have completed appropriate training. Protected Health Information (PHI) that will be accessed includes demographic data for patients such as Medical Record Number, date of surgery, planned operation, dental history, etc.(Also see the Data Collection Form). PHI will be collected and maintained in REDCap. For the retrospective review portion of the study, the charts of previous patients will be accessed. Data from those patients who underwent surgery within one year prior to beginning the study will be compared to the data collected during the study. Since obtaining consent for this portion of chart review will be difficult, we plan to request a HIPAA waiver of authorization.