A pharyngeal pouch (or Zenker’s Diverticulum) is where a blind ending sac forms in the upper oesophagus. The oesophagus is the tube that carries food from your throat to your stomach. The pouch occurs through a weak area in the muscles of the throat called Killian’s dehiscence. It is thought a pouch forms due to high pressures during swallowing, an uncoordinated swallow and indigestion.
Symptoms of a pharyngeal pouch
The larger the pouch the more likely it is to cause symptoms, but even small pouches can cause problems. Symptoms include:
- regurgitation of undigested food
- difficulty swallowing
- tightness in the throat
- bad breath
- occasionally gurgling on pressing your neck (Boyce’s sign)
- Recurrent chest infections or aspiration
Investigations
A provisional diagnosis can be made in clinic on taking the history and examination findings, but confirmation is needed with a barium or Gastrografin swallow. A barium swallow involves drinking a liquid and taking x-rays which will show where the liquid flows or where it collects. If you have a pharyngeal pouch the barium will collect within it.
To find out more about the treatment of pharyngeal pouch, head to the Operations page.