Congenital bilateral pharyngoceles: an unusual case of upper dysphagia

Abstract

Pharyngocele is infrequently reported in the literature and is rarely considered in the differential diagnosis of upper dysphagia. We describe the case of a healthy young man, without any history of activities that would result in elevated intrapharyngeal pressure, with difficulty swallowing since childhood. Bilateral pharyngoceles were diagnosed after barium swallow and carbonated-beverage ingestion. We discuss the possibility that our patient's pharyngoceles may be congenital in origin from an internal branchial sinus anomaly.