DISHphagia: An Unusual Cause of Dysphagia

Abstract

An 83-yr-old man with hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels, thus satisfying the diagnostic criteria of metabolic syndrome, was admitted to our department of Internal Medicine because of unstable angina. A percutaneous intervention with angioplasty and drug-eluting stent placement in the left anterior descending coronary artery was performed. The patient also complained about a mild persistent dysphagia since several months earlier. A recent gastroscopy was completely normal. A barium-contrasted esophagram (Fig. 1, A–C) revealed a large anterior cervical osteophyte at the C4 –C5 level, determining hypopharyngeal and esophageal compression. The presence of anterior cervical hyperostosis was confirmed by cervical spine x-rays (Fig. 1D) and computed tomography