Forestier – rotes disease as a cause of progressive dysphagia

Introduction: The causes of dysphagia are varied. The cricopharyngeal dysphagias include caustic strictures, cervical spine diseases, benign and malignant tumors.

Degenerative changes in the spine can produce osteophytic spurs on the anterior surface of the cervical vertebrae. These osteophytes may sometimes cause dysphagia with progressive difficulty in swallowing solid and liquid foods, aspiration and weight loss, dysphonia, stridor, chronic pneumonia and vascular compression.

Case History: A 65-year-old man presented with a four years' history of progressive dysphagia. Cervical x-ray films demonstrated anterior degenerative osteophytic spurs between C3– C6. He underwent an uneventful operative excision of the spurs through an anterior – lateral approach. The patient became asymptomatic in one week.

Conclusion: For patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia due to cervical hypertrophic osteoarthropathy surgical removal may be necessary if the dysphagia is unremitting.