Abstract
Mentally handicapped patients with esophageal pathology may present a diagnostic challenge, as they may not complain of any specific symptoms or be able to give a clear history of either dysphagia or odynophagia. This paper reports 2 such patients who recently presented to the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals. In the first case, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy under general anesthesia enabled both the identification and removal of a large esophageal foreign body. In the second case, repeated upper gastrointestinal endoscopy facilitated both the identification and nonsurgical management of a paraesophageal abscess.
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Dallal, H.J., Odum, J. & Ahluwalia, N.K. Covert dysphagia in the mentally handicapped: Two case reports and a review of published literature. Dysphagia 11, 194–197 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366385
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366385