2006 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 72-76
We report a 76-year-old woman with dysphagia caused by left lateral medullary infarction．She developed venigo，left limb ataxia，dysarthria and dysphagia．Vertigo and ataxia improved soon，but dysphagia remained severely．Videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing (VF) showed an impairment of the upper esophageal sphincter opening．and the balloon dilatation method for cricopharyngeal dysfunction was applied．Dysphagia did not improve at all though the balloon treatment was continued for five months．Because the larynx elevated enough in VF，a cricopharyngeal myotomy was performed．However dysphagia did not change and vomiting appeared．Because she accepted a tracheotomy，a laryngeal suspension was added．After the laryngeal suspension，the entrance of the esophagus was opened with forward motion of the neck and the food bolus passed into the esophagus with gravity．She became to eat three times a day and the tube nutrition became unnecessary． lf a cricopharyngeal myotomy is not effective for dysphagia of Wallenberg syndrome，we should consider the addition of a laryngeal suspension．
