Open approaches to cricopharyngeal hypertonicity and hypopharyngeal diverticulum

Cricopharyngeal dysfunction and Zenker’s Diverticulum are seen more commonly as our population ages and both the entities lead to clinical and quality-of-life derangements. Many practitioners prefer an endoscopic approach for the treatment of these problems, yet surgeons still need to be familiar with open techniques. The open approaches are still necessary for those patients who have failed an endoscopic approach or are not a candidate for the procedure because of anatomical limitations. As such, the surgeon must be comfortable with both the methods to provide effective care for patients with these issues.