A rare medical condition has left a man — whose name was not disclosed — with food rotting a hole in his throat.
Three years ago, a 40-year-old engineer began suffering from repeated throat inflammation, experiencing difficulty swallowing and often choking or gagging on his food.
The man later started emitting a rotting odor through his breath, with the odor so putrid that it began to seriously affect his personal life. At first, he thought it was because of his habit of staying up late, which can cause a type of gastroesophageal reflux, but what doctors uncovered was a rare condition called esophageal diverticulum.
“The human esophagus is like a 25cm straight pipe through which food is transported to be digested in the stomach. Having an esophageal diverticulum is like having your esophagus grow a new room in the middle of your esophagus, which intercepts food from being delivered into the stomach,” Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital otolaryngologist Li Jia-rong (李佳融) said, adding that the intercepted food then slowly rots within the esophagus.
“The cause of esophageal diverticula is mostly genetics. Some people have a thinner mucus lining covering the opening of their esophagus, in which food is more likely to get caught, thus slowly forming a diverticulum, or pouch,” Li said.
This causes difficulty in swallowing and small deformities within the respiratory track, he said.
Esophageal diverticula are a rare condition that usually occur in people aged 40 to 60. For every 100,000 people, there are only two to three cases.
“Symptoms of esophageal diverticula can include tightness in the chest area, bad breath and throat inflammation. Even drinking water, eating a bowl of rice or noodles can cause choking,” Li said.
In the past, neck surgery was the only known treatment, but it is considered quite dangerous because of the likelihood of nerve damage.
Even after a successful operation, the patient might continue to experience some eating difficulty, as well as be left with a visible scar from the surgery.
Recently, doctors in Taiwan performed the first endoscopic esophageal diverticula laser ostomy as a new form of treatment for the condition, Li said, adding the new treatment leaves the patient scar-free and can help reduce the risk of infection.
After just one week of recovery, patients would not only be able to eat normally, but could also return to their normal lives, he said.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
RSS