Long-standing postsurgical lower cranial nerve palsy mimicking a pharyngolaryngeal submucosal mass in an elderly patient

Changes that occur as a natural part of senescence in the complex action of deglutition predispose to dysphagia and aspiration. This dysfunction is worsened in patients with preexisting anatomic or functional alteration such as in case of a postsurgical lower cranial nerve palsy. We present the case of a 72-year-old woman who underwent surgical resection of a right jugulotympanic tumor 33 years ago, resulting in lower cranial nerve palsy, and came to our attention referring a 4 months' history of progressive dysphagia in which a pharyngolaryngeal submucosal mass was suspected