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Difficult Decisions in Thoracic Surgery pp 293–301Cite as

Optimal Therapy for Cricopharyngeal Diverticula

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Abstract

Cricopharyngeal diverticula (also known as Zenker’s diverticula) are protrusions of pharyngeal mucosa through an area of relative weakness in the posterior wall of the pharynx, in the so-called Killian’s triangle between the obliquely-positioned inferior constrictor muscle and the transversely-oriented cricopharyngeal muscle.1 A higher hypopharyngeal pressure during swallowing and a lower resistance of the posterior wall of the hypopharynx are fundamental factors in the pathogenesis of cricopharyngeal diverticula. Cricopharyngeal spasm, cricopharyngeal incoordination, impaired upper esophageal sphincter opening, and structural changes in the cricopharyngeal muscle have all been implicated in the etiology of Zenker’s diverticula.2,3

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, Hospital SS Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, Italy

    Giovanni Zaninotto

  2. Department of Surgical and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Christian Rizzetto

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  1. Giovanni Zaninotto
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  2. Christian Rizzetto
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Surgery, Mail Code 5035, University of Chicago, S. Maryland Avenue 5841, Chicago, 60637, Illinois, USA

    Mark K. Ferguson

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Zaninotto, G., Rizzetto, C. (2011). Optimal Therapy for Cricopharyngeal Diverticula. In: Ferguson, M. (eds) Difficult Decisions in Thoracic Surgery. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-492-0_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-492-0_34

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