Carcinoma arising in a pharyngeal pouch previously treated by endoscopic stapling.

OBJECTIVES

A case is described in which squamous cell carcinoma was found during surgery for a recurrent pharyngeal pouch previously treated by endoscopic stapling. A search of the English language literature suggests this is the first reported case of a carcinoma developing in a pharyngeal pouch previously treated by endoscopic stapling.

STUDY DESIGN

Case report and literature review.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The records of a patient who presented with a recurrent pharyngeal pouch after a previous endoscopic stapling procedure were reviewed. The presentation, imaging, and histopathologic findings are presented and the implications of these discussed.

RESULTS

Imaging confirmed a recurrent pharyngeal diverticulum. An endoscopic assessment revealed the presence of tumor in the recurrent pouch that histopathologic evaluation confirmed to be squamous cell carcinoma. The patient underwent an external excision of this diverticulum followed by a course of external beam radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first reported case of a carcinoma developing in a recurrent pharyngeal diverticulum previously treated by endoscopic stapling and brings to light a rare risk of endoscopic stapling procedures for the treatment of pharyngeal diverticula.