Morphology of the cricopharyngeal muscle in Zenker and control specimens.

The cricopharyngeal muscle (CPM) is essential for normal deglutition. Pharyngeal dysphagia commonly results from impaired or uncoordinated CPM dilation. Dysfunction of the CPM has also been implicated in the genesis of Zenker's (pharyngoesophageal) diverticulum. Despite the CPM's significance, little is understood about its morphology. We studied CPM biopsy specimens from 20 patients with Zenker's diverticulum and from 5 fresh cadaver patients with detailed histologic techniques to include fiber size and shape and adenosine triphosphatase, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, trichrome, succinate dehydrogenase, cytochrome C oxidase, periodic acid-Schiff reaction, oil red O, acid phosphatase, Congo red, crystal violet, and monoadenylate deaminase stains. The normal CPM has unique morphological characteristics, with some myofibers having staining properties that are a hybrid between striated muscle and muscle spindle. The variable orientation of the muscle fibers is also different from that of most other striated musculature. Of the 20 Zenker CPM specimens, 4 specimens did not reveal any significant differences from controls (2 of which had insufficient amounts of tissue for complete analysis). In the remaining 16 specimens, several abnormalities existed, including excessive size variation (16/16), grouping of atrophic fibers (9/16), target or targetoid formations (4/16), cores (2/16), and ragged red fibers (2/16). The final pathological pattern of the 16 specimens was neurogenic in 7, myopathic in 4, and mixed (with neurogenic predominance) in the remaining 5. Two specimens contained significant lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrates. We conclude that the unique neuromuscular function of the CPM in deglutition is likely due to its fiber orientation and the hybrid nature of some of the myofibers. Morphological disturbances of the CPM impair its dilation and may account for the development of Zenker's diverticulum. This disturbance is most often due to progressive denervation of the CPM.

Zenker's diverticulum: is a myotomy of the cricopharyngeus useful? How long should it be?

In a series of 100 consecutive patients surgically treated for Zenker's diverticulum (ZD) biopsy specimens were taken at the level of the cricopharyngeal muscle in 62 patients and also at the level of the striated muscle wall of the cervical esophagus in 10 patients. Contractility, pathological enzymo- and immunohistochemical characteristics were studied in comparison with a group of 15 controls. Obvious pathological findings were noted in 95% of the ZD specimens as compared with the control specimens. These pathological changes, although somewhat less pronounced, were also documented in the biopsy specimens taken at the level of the striated cervical muscle wall. The findings were judged important enough to justify a long extramucosal myotomy of the cricopharyngeal muscle and cervical esophagus as an essential step in the treatment of ZD. The treatment of choice in this series was a diverticulopexy and a four to five centimeter long extramucosal myotomy, starting from the cricopharyngeal muscle and extending downwards into the striated muscle wall of the cervical esophagus. Excellent or very good results were obtained in 96% of the patients with respect to diverticulum-related symptoms.