Dysphagia due to cervical osteophytes.

Cervical bony outgrowths or osteophytes are common and usually asymptomatic. In some cases, they may be associated with dysphagia, dysphonia, dyspnea and pulmonary aspiration. The most common causes of cervical osteophytes are osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and ankylosing hyperostosis or Diffuse Idiopathic Spinal Hyperostosis (DISH), also known as Forestier's Disease. Other causes are hypoparathyroidism, trauma, acromegaly, ochronosis and flourosis. However, while dysphagia due to osteophytes is reported in the setting of DISH, it is very rare with osteoarthritis. We report a case of a patient who developed dysphagia due to anterior cervical osteophytes in the setting of osteoarthritis.