[A case of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) causing dysphagia].

A case of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis causing dysphasia was reported. A 62 year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of nuchal pain and dysphagia. Roentgenograms of the cervical spine demonstrated a "flowing" ossification anterior to three contiguous vertebral bodies, C 4-6. Esophagraphic examination demonstrated esophageal compression caused by the enormous ossification. Roentgenograms of the thoracic and lumbar spine revealed an anterior bony bridge and prediscal ossicles at multiple levels of the vertebral column. These radiographic features were characteristic of DISH. The authors discussed the symptomatology, differential diagnosis and treatment of DISH mainly involving the cervical region, and emphasized the importance of being able to recognize this unfamiliar disorder in the neurosurgical clinic.