Zenker's diverticulum, a pulsion diverticulum of the hypopharynx, is a rare lesion that commonly occurs in left side of hypopharynx. The incidence of esophageal diverticula is much lower than that of focal lesions or nodules of thyroid. In an ultrasonography, the outpouching just like a focal thyroid lesion, may present as an oval or circular structure. The food remnants or gas bubbles present in the diverticulum may mimic microcalcifications presented in papillary thyroid carcinoma. We reported a case of right side Zenker's diverticulum mimicking a thyroid cancer in thyroid ultrasonography.
Diverticulum ; Diverticulum, Esophageal ; Hypopharynx ; Incidence ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule ; Ultrasonography ; Zenker Diverticulum

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the safety and efficacy of submucosal tunneling endoscopic septum division (STESD) for escophageal diverticulum.

METHODSClinical data of six consecutive patients with symptomatic esophageal diverticula who received STESD in Endoscopy Center of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from April 2016 to November 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. STESD was performed as following: mucosal entry was made 3 cm from the septum of esophageal diverticulum; submucosal tunnel was created towards the septum; after the satisfactory exposure of the septum, endoscopic division was made down to the bottom of the diverticulum; mucosal closure of the tunnel entry was made. The symptoms were scored using a system modified according to Eckardt score, namely dysphagia, heartburn, regurgitation, weight loss and retrosternal pain with each ranging from 0 to 3 (maximum score 15, minimum score 0, the higher the score, the more severe the symptoms).

RESULTSThere were four males and two females with median age of 56.5 (range 50-67) years. Four patients were epiphrenic diverticula, and the other two were Zenker's diverticula. Median duration of disease was 2.5 years (range 5 months-29 years). No previous treatment was attempted. All the patients completed STESD successfully. The median septum division length was 2.5(1-4) cm. The median number of metallic clips for mucosal closure was 5(2-6). The median operation time was 51.5 (33-135) min. No major adverse events, such as perforation or bleeding were found in perioperative period. The median time of hospital stay was 5(3-9) days. All the patients had symptom relief after operation. One patient with Zenker's diverticulum reported foreign body sensation after operation and experienced relief two weeks afterwards. During a median follow-up time of 5(4-10) months, the median symptom score of 6 cases was 4.5 (1-13) before and 0.5 (0-4) after operation. The symptom scores went down to zero in 3 patients (preoperative scores 13, 1, 1, respectively), and down to 1 in 2 patients with main symptom of backflow (preoperative scores 5, 4, respectively). One patient with 29 years history of disease did not report obvious improvement in symptoms (preoperative and postoperative scores 5, 4, respectively).

CONCLUSIONSubmucosal tunneling endoscopic septum division is efficient and safe to relieve symptomatic esophageal diverticulum in short term.

Aged ; Diverticulum, Esophageal ; surgery ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane ; Operative Time ; Perioperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Instruments ; Treatment Outcome ; Video-Assisted Surgery ; methods ; Zenker Diverticulum ; surgery

A pharyngeal diverticulum is a rare complication of an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). We present a case of a pharyngeal diverticulum after an ACDF, which was misdiagnosed as a typical Zenker diverticulum. A 54-year-old woman presented with dysphagia and a sense of irritation in the neck following C5 through C7 cervical fusion 3 years prior. The patient underwent open surgery to resect the diverticulum with concurrent cricopharyngeal myotomy. An ACDF-related diverticulum is difficult to distinguish from a typical Zenker diverticulum.
Deglutition Disorders ; Diskectomy ; Diverticulum ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Pharynx ; Zenker Diverticulum*

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has been performed for degenerative and traumatic cervical diseases to improve pain and neurologic symptoms including sensory change and motor weakness. Infection, however, is a rare complication of ACDF, and late infection is even much rarer. We present a case of late Infection from ACDF C4-5 using Biocompatible Osteoconductive Polymer (BOP) after twenty years in the absence of an esophageal perforation, Zenker's diverticulum, or recent surgery or bacteremia. Late infection from ACDF after 20 years is extremely rare in the literature. However, possibility of such a late complication should be appreciated during the follow-up period and surgical resection will be required for proper treatment.
Bacteremia ; Diskectomy* ; Esophageal Perforation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Polymers ; Zenker Diverticulum

Zenker diverticulum is a rare condition with a reported prevalence of 0.01% to 0.11% in the general population. Challenges that can arise when treating a Zenker diverticulum through flexible endoscopy include maintaining a stable position and avoiding hemorrhage or perforation. Nevertheless, this approach is associated with less morbidity and a shorter hospital stay than conventional treatment consisting of open surgery or rigid endoscopic treatment with diverticuloscopy. We report a case of transparent cap-assisted flexible endoscopic septoplasty using a needle knife.
Endoscopy ; Hemorrhage ; Length of Stay ; Needles ; Prevalence ; Zenker Diverticulum

Cerebral hemorrhage is one of the most common causes of dysphagia. In many cases, dysphagia gets better once the acute phase has passed. Structural lesions such as thyromegaly, cervical hyperostosis, congenital web, Zenker's diverticulum, neoplasm, radiation fibrosis, and retropharyngeal abscess must be considered as other causes of dysphagia as well. Retropharyngeal abscess seldom occur in adults and if it does so, a search for a prior dental procedure, trauma, head and neck infection is needed. The symptoms may include neck pain, dysphagia, sore throat, and in rare cases, dyspnea accompanied by stridor. We present a case and discuss a patient who had dysphagia and neck pain after a cerebral hemorrhage. Testing revealed a retropharyngeal abscess. The symptoms were successfully treated after the administration of antibiotics.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Deglutition Disorders ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Hyperostosis ; Neck ; Neck Pain ; Pharyngitis ; Radiation Pneumonitis ; Respiratory Sounds ; Retropharyngeal Abscess ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Zenker Diverticulum

Killian-Jamieson diverticulum is a rare diverticular disease. This disease differs from Zenker's diverticulum in its location and mechanism. Various treatment modality have been attempted, but traditional surgical treatment has been recommended for a symptomatic Killian-Jamieson diverticulum due to the concern of possible nerve injury. We performed surgical treatment by cervical incision. We report here on a case of Killian-Jamieson diverticulum and we briefly review the relevant literature.
Diverticulum ; Esophageal Diseases ; Zenker Diverticulum

Diagnostic Errors ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Thyroid Nodule ; diagnostic imaging ; Ultrasonography ; Zenker Diverticulum ; diagnostic imaging

Killian-Jamieson diverticulum is a rare disease that is seen at the cervical esophagus. It has quite a different pathogenesis and anatomical location compared with that of Zenker's diverticulum. The pathophysiology and strategy for treating Killian-Jamieson diverticulum are not fully understood. We performed surgery using one incision for treating a case of Killian-Jamieson diverticulum and we review the medical literature that's related to this unusual diverticulum.
Diverticulum ; Diverticulum, Esophageal ; Esophageal Diseases ; Esophagus ; Rare Diseases ; Zenker Diverticulum

Aged ; Deglutition Disorders ; etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Zenker Diverticulum ; complications ; pathology