Excision of Zenker's diverticulum to treat dysphagia associated with acute-phase cerebral infarction

Abstract

A 75-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with dysphagia shortly after the onset of a brainstem infarction. Videofluorography indicated the presence of a Zenker's diverticulum with a bolus at the esophageal orifice; endoscopy 5 years earlier had not shown a Zenker's diverticulum and suggests that the diverticulum had formed because of an increase in the hypopharyngeal pressure caused by the brainstem infarction. Surgical excision successfully facilitated transport of the bolus to the esophageal orifice. In the present report, we describe a case of dysphagia caused by a Zenker's diverticulum following and associated with a brain infarction.