Surgical interventions for pharyngeal pouch

This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in The Cochrane Library in Issue 3, 2005 and previously updated in 2009.

A pharyngeal pouch is an out-pouching or pocket that develops from the posterior wall of the pharynx just above the entrance to the oesophagus (gullet). Pouches may give rise to difficulty in swallowing, sensation of a lump in the throat or of food sticking in the throat and may lead to troublesome regurgitation of food. Food may enter the pouch rather than passing down the oesophagus and this and regurgitation may result in weight loss, hoarseness of voice and/or recurrent chest infections. The management of patients with a pharyngeal pouch may be either conservative or surgical. Surgical management can be further divided into two broad categories: endoscopic and open procedures. In the first half of the 20th century an open surgical approach to the pouch was most frequently used and remains common in some parts of the world. In recent decades endoscopic procedures (where the approach is made through the mouth) have become popular. The superiority of one approach over another has yet to be clearly demonstrated.