An elderly man with acute anterior neck pain and odynophagia after a meal

Abstract

The upper aerodigestive tract, specifically the cricopharyngeal area, is the most common site of foreign body impaction. Anatomically, this area is the first constriction of the oesophagus. Fish bones, one of the most common foreign bodies encountered in the throat, tend to get stuck in this area. The movement of this sharp-edged foreign body upon swallowing will induce odynophagia and an acute onset of neck pain. We report a case of a healthy elderly man who complained of sudden anterior neck pain and odynophagia after eating yellowtail scad fish.

Keywords

• oreign body
• fish bone
• throat
• cricopharynx
• neck
• radiograph