Modified Mondays: Zenker’s Diverticulum Video

This video clip is an interesting example of a Zenker’s diverticulum. A Zenker’s is an outpouching of the mucosa and submucosal layers at an area called the Killinan’s dehiscence. It protrudes out the back (dorsal) area of the pharyngoespophageal region. Patients can complain of food “getting stuck” or coming back up, bad breath, and coughing/choking after swallows. This particular patient was assessed clinically with consistent cough post swallow, which was assumed to be due to residues. The effortful swallow was recommended, but the coughing continued for a few more weeks, so the MBS was ordered. Depending on the body positioning/habitus of the patient, Zenker’s can sometimes be hard to spot from the lateral view (I get suspicious any time I see retrograde flow back into the pharynx), but are beautifully viewed on the A-P view.

Here is a link to more info:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3773964/

See the drawing below for a better visual of this type of diverticuli!