Long-term results after surgical treatment of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) causing dysphagia.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a non-inflammatory, systemic skeletal disease. The associated formation of anterior cervical osteophytes can cause severe dysphagia, so the osteophytes have to be surgically removed. Because the clinical syndrome is rare, long-term outcome after surgical therapy is likewise scarce. In this retrospective, single-center study, five consecutive patients with DISH causing dysphagia and following resection of osteophytes between 2005 and 2015 were included. Patient and surgical reports were evaluated regarding surgery-related and postoperative complications. For the short term, the outpatient visits three months and one year after the surgery were evaluated. For the long-term results, patients were followed via questionnaires concerning actual complaints, complications or further treatment associated to DISH. Five male patients (61.6 years old; range, 43-77) were operated. One patient had a transitory worsening of a preexisting hoarseness and one patient had permanent problems with singing postoperatively. All patients reported improvement of dysphagia after three months. One patient deceased five years after surgery independently of DISH without complaining about recurring dysphagia. After a mean follow-up of 70.3 months (range, 24-126 months), dysphagia was consistently improved in all remaining four patients. The patient with the slightest improvement and clinical deterioration in the course had an initially incomplete resection of osteophytes. Imaging showed a re-increase of ossifications 2.5 years after the surgery. Resection of symptomatic anterior osteophytes in DISH is a safe and promising procedure to improve dysphagia in the long-term, but the recurrence of osteophytes is possible years after initial treatment.