Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T02:02:54.650Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Pharyngeal perforation: a late complication of cervical spine surgery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

S L Woolley
Affiliation:
the Emergency Department, Bristol Royal Infirmary/Bristol Children’s Hospital, Bristol , Cardiff, UK.
D R K Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, University Hospital of Wales, Bristol , Cardiff, UK.

Abstract

Anterior cervical spine fusion and stabilization is a well-recognized procedure for a number of cervical spine disorders. Unfortunately, the complex anatomy of the cervical spine means that these procedures are not without complications. Pharyngo-oesophageal perforation is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of cervical spine surgery and may present intra-operatively, in the immediate post-operative period or many years later. We present the case of a gentleman with ankylosing spondylitis who presented with a pharyngeal perforation and fistula five years after cervical spine surgery.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2005 Royal Society of Medicine Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)