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Hooking of the soft palate and a large cervical osteophyte: two troubles in the same airway
Charalampos Mermigkis1, Demetrios Mermigkis, Izolde Bouloukaki
1Sleep Disorders Unit (CM, IB, SES), Department of Thoracic Medicine, University General Hospital, Medical School of the University of Crete, Crete, Greece; and Sleep Disorders Unit (CM, DM, VA), Army General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Abstract:
We report a case of severe obstructive sleep apnea in a 72-year-old, thin male caused by upper airway obstruction due to an enlarged cervical osteophyte at the C2-C3 level in association with a hooking of the soft palate. This is the first reported case with magnetic resonance imaging recognizing 2 simultaneously existing unusual obstructive causes: the oropharynx (hooking palate) and the hypopharynx (large cervical osteophyte).
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