Six cases of Forestier syndrome, a rare cause of dysphagia.

Dysphagia is a common presenting complaint in otolaryngology practice, and there are many causes. Forestier syndrome is a rare cause of dysphagia. It is also known as diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) syndrome or vertebral ankylosing hyperostosis. Forestier syndrome consists of anterolateral perivertebral ligament calcification. It was first described by Forestier and Rotes-Querol in 1950; diagnosis is primarily radiological and the etiology is unknown. In addition to dysphagia Forestier syndrome has been reported to cause laryngeal stridor, dyspnea, snoring and hoarseness. Other important symptoms associated with Forestier syndrome are stiffness and pain in the back, pain related to tendinitis, myelopathy related to core compression associated with the ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, and pain related to vertebral complications such as fracture or subluxation. We report six cases of Forestier syndrome as an etiologic factor in dysphagia and present clinical and radiological findings.