Abstract
A case of dysphagia due to traumatic cervical emphysema is reported. The patient was a 51-year-old female who had complained of a foreign body sensation in the throat. She thought that she might have pharyngeal cancer. She occasionally found a firm mass in the lateral region of the pharynx (this was actually a lateral pharyngeal band). She tried to remove it by an iron needle stick. The patient noticed cervical swelling after repeated swallowing action.
Roentgenographic examination revealed a marked thickness of the posterior wall of the hypopharynx due to submucosal emphysema. Submucosal emphysema disturbed mechanically the elevation of the larynx and the movement of the epiglottis. Thus, the bolus of food was easily aspirated into the tracheal lumen.
Cervical emphysema disappeared in approximately 2 weeks after the injury of the pharynx without any intensive antibiotic therapy.
