title: Hooking of the soft palate and a large cervical osteophyte: two troubles in the same airway.
abstract: We report a case of severe obstructive sleep apnea in a 72-year-old, thin male caused by upper airway obstruction due to an enlarged cervical osteophyte at the C2-C3 level in association with a hooking of the soft palate. This is the first reported case with magnetic resonance imaging recognizing 2 simultaneously existing unusual obstructive causes: the oropharynx (hooking palate) and the hypopharynx (large cervical osteophyte).
authors.affiliation: Sleep Disorders Unit (CM, IB, SES), Department of Thoracic Medicine, University General Hospital, Medical School of the University of Crete, Crete, Greece; and Sleep Disorders Unit (CM, DM, VA), Army General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Charalampos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mermigkis
authors.forename: Demetrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mermigkis
authors.forename: Izolde
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bouloukaki
authors.forename: Vagelis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alogdianakis
authors.forename: Sophia E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Schiza
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D006801:Humans; D007013:Hypopharynx / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000473:pathology*; D054850:Osteophyte / Q000473:pathology*; D010160:Palate, Soft / Q000473:pathology*; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome