Steakhouse syndrome causing large esophageal ulcer and stenosis

A 66-year-old man developed dysphagia during dinner and was evaluated 2 d later in our hospital because of persistent symptoms. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed no impacted food, but advanced esophageal cancer was suspected based on the presence in the upper esophagus of a large irregular ulcerative lesion with a thick white coating and stenosis. Further imaging studies were performed to evaluate for metastases, revealing circumferential esophageal wall thickening and findings suggestive of lung and mediastinal lymph node metastases. However, dysphagia symptoms and the esophageal ulcer improved after hospital admission, and histopathological examination of the esophageal mucosa revealed only nonspecific inflammation. At the time of symptom onset, the patient had been eating stewed beef tendon (Gyusuji nikomi in Japanese) without chewing well. Esophageal ulceration due to steakhouse syndrome was therefore diagnosed. The lung lesion was a primary lung cancer that was surgically resected. Although rare, steakhouse syndrome can cause large esophageal ulceration and stenosis, so care must be taken to distinguish this from esophageal cancer.