[Mucoid webs of the cervical esophagus. Apropos of 38 cases discovered during upper endoscopy at the Hôpital Principal of Dakar. Relationship to Plummer-Vinson syndrome].

Thirty-eight cervical esophageal mucous diaphragms were discovered in the course of 15,000 high endoscopies carried out over the past 5 years at Dakar General Hospital. Thirty-six of the sufferers were Black Senegalese. The 29 women and 9 men had an average age of 37 years. Dysphagia was diagnosed 29 times, and anemia 22 times. Endoscopic diagnosis readily shows the mucous diaphragm at the level of, or immediately below, KILLIAN's mouth. PLUMMER-VINSON's syndrome affected 16 of these patients. Treatment consists in collapsing the mucous diaphragm by putting the endoscope through it: this happened to 30 of the patients. Endoscopic surveillance is indispensable because of the risk of cancer, but is difficult to perform.