Abstract
This report presents a case of persistent dysphagia which developed after anterior cervical spine surgery. A 75-year-old male with a past medical history of anterior cervical spine surgery to improve progressive dysphagia complained of his worsening symptoms. At the first consultation a laryngoscopic examination revealed saliva to be pooled in the bilateral piriform sinuses. Video-fluorography revealed the laryngeal elevation to be slightly disturbed and the cricopharyngeal opening was severely restricted. Lateral neck radiography showed no anterior osteophytes. Neither a gastrointestinal lesion nor any neurogenic/myogenic causeswere identified. He gradually failed to tolerate any peroral intake, although he was treated by a balloon catheter method. We therefore performed a cricopharyngeal myotomy and laryngeal suspension. An intensively scarred lesion was identified outside the cervical esophagus and the hypopharynx, while a histopathological examination disclosed fibrous scar tissue with inflammation. After surgery, the dysphagia was remarkably improved, as did the clinical findings based on video-fluorography and laryngoscopy. The patient thereafter was able to return to a general diet. It was therefore possible that the cervical osteophytes and the anterior cervical surgery synergistically induced cicatricial stenosis of the cricopharyngeal segment
