Dysphagia and airway obstruction due to large cervical osteophyte in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis

Anterior cervical osteophytes are excessive bony formation of cervical vertebra bodies. They are common but rarely symptomatic lesions mostly seen in geriatric population. Large anterior cervical osteophytes may cause symptoms such as dysphagia, dyspnea, dysphonia, and odynophagia. They have been attributed to multiple etiologies including diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, following trauma, cervical spondylitis, and infectious spondylitis. However, symptomatic large anterior cervical osteophyte with ankylosing spondylitis is extremely rare. Surgical excision is the main treatment for symptomatic cases. We report a case of a 53-year-old man with airway obstruction and dysphagia due to large cervical osteophyte who has a history of ankylosing spondylitis, and we also addressed the etiological factors and management of large symptomatic cervical osteophytes.