schatzki's ring

hi all, that's a picture of "schatzki's ring"

I used to think that dysphagia largely meant difficulty swallowing liquids, and i never expected the patient to have difficulty swallowing solids and not liquids till i met this old lady.

This lady patient has GORD and intermittent difficulty swallowing solid food which the medical team attributed to the 'schatzki's ring'. As i've never seen that term before, i thought i'd share what i found with you guys to expand our knowledge.

the schatzki's ring is an abnormal ring of tissue in the lower esophagus located at or near the border of the lower esophageal sphincter. It is also known as a lower esophageal ring. The causes for this is unclear and it is hypothesized that it could be a consequence of GORD or be congenital or even pill-induced.

A barium esophagram followed by an esophagogastroduodenoscopy is usually done to diagnose the condition and dilatation with intention to fracture that ring is usually the first course of action. If that does not work, the medical team might resort to surgical excision, all the time keeping in mind aggressively treating any existing reflux diseases.

Although this is not directly physio-related, i hope this piece of information comes in useful for you guys at some point in time, especially if your patient has GORD and has difficulty swallowing things like bread and steak but not water (like my patient).