Steakhouse Syndrome in Myotonic Dystrophy.

A 70-year-old man with myotonic dystrophy (MD) showed repetitive vomiting and decreased food ingestion. These symptoms were caused by acute mass of steak impaction occluding the esophagus, known as "steakhouse syndrome," which may have occurred in response to esophageal functional changes following gastrointestinal involvement due to MD pathology. The occluding food was successfully removed endoscopically, and his symptoms resolved without relapse. Our case suggests that MD patients can present with "steakhouse syndrome" due to bolus food impaction occluding the esophagus as one of their gastrointestinal manifestations, which underscores the need for its consideration in MD patients presenting with similar symptoms.

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.

A Case of Steakhouse Syndrome Associated with Nutcracker Esophagus / 대한소화관운동학회지

The most common type of food-related foreign body in esophagus is impacted meat bolus and sudden esophageal obstruction after eating poorly chewed meat has been called the "steakhouse syndrome". It is frequently caused by underlying esophageal stenosis including abnormal ring, the sequalae of reflux esophagitis, malignancy and rarely esophageal motility disorders. A 55-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital complaining swallowing difficulty after ingestion of a lump of chicken 3 days ago. Impacted meat bolus was found at distal esophagus on emergency endoscopy. However, there was no definite anatomical stenotic lesion after removal of meat with the polypectomy snare. Esophageal manometry showed segmental, high amplitude of esophageal pressure at lower esophagus with normal peristalsis and occasional triple peaked waves. The manometry finding was consistent with nutcracker esophagus. We report a case of steakhouse syndrome associated by nutcracker esophagus without abnormality on endoscopy and esophagography.

4 Cases of Steakhouse Syndrome of the Esophagus / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Acute food impaction of the esophagus is not an unusual problem on an emergency ward. It has been termed the Steakhouse syndrome or the Backyard barbecue syndrome, indicating that meet is the obstrueting bolus in the majority of cases. Most esophageal stenoaes are located distally, and this ie also the area where most food impations occur. The obstruction quickly becomes apparent to the patient when further swallowing of food or liquid is impossible. Various obstructive lesions or motility disorders of the esophagus have been implicated as etiological factors in acute food impaction. Common,disorders include reflux esophagitis with stricture, hiatal hernia, abnormal rings and postoperative strictures at anastomotic sites. Malignant stenoses have been very rarely described. Recently we experienced of 4 patients who suffered from acute dysphagia after they had ingestion of food such as beef, pork, chicken, and dog meat, repectively. All of them were diagnased as steakhouse syndrome due to acute food impaction of the esophageal after examinations of esophagogram and endoscopy. They had hiatal hernia, esophageal cancer, reflux esophagitis with stricture, and abnormal ring as underlying diseases, repectively. All of them were treated with endoseopic removal of foreign body by a Dormia basket.