Asymptomatic Pharyngeal Pouch in Laimer Hackermann Triangle in Oral Cavity

Abstract

Laimer’s or Laimer-triangle Hackerman’s area is a potentially weak location behind the cricopharyngeal muscle, where the posterior oesophageal wall is thin because of a single layer of circular fibres. Dysphagia, odynophagia, and hoarseness of voice are the predominant symptoms, although they can also be asymptomatic and get worsen to aspiration and pharyngeal pouch rupture. The authors here present a case report of a rare, normal anatomical variation in a 76-year-old male patient, which was diagnosed accidentally as Laimer Hackermann diverticulum when he arrived to seek a treatment for missing teeth. Clinically, it presented as an asymptomatic palatal pouch in the left faucial pillar region. The asymptomatic presentation of Laimer-Hackermann diverticulum has rarely been reported previously in the literature and this report is the first of its kind to add a unique asymptomatic presentation of the Laimer-Hackermann pharyngeal pouch.

Keywords

• faucial pillar
• diverticula
• dysphagia
• oesophageal wall
• oropharynx