Symptoms of esophageal squamous epithelial hyperplasia

In life, some patients are troubled by esophageal squamous epithelial hyperplasia, so how much do you know about it? Let me introduce to you the symptoms of esophageal squamous epithelial hyperplasia.

(1) Foreign body sensation in the esophagus: The location of the foreign body sensation is often consistent with esophageal lesions. As the disease progresses, symptoms such as choking when swallowing food and even pain may appear. The cause of this symptom may be that the mucosal congestion and swelling at the site of esophageal lesions reduces the stimulation threshold of the esophageal submucosal nerve plexus.

(2) Slow passage of food and a feeling of stagnation: After swallowing food, the food moves down slowly and there is a feeling of stagnation. The disease is more common in the upper and middle esophagus. It is often mild at first, gradually worsens, and is accompanied by other symptoms. The mechanism may be mainly functional changes, or it may be due to the wider "cancerous field" of esophageal cancer and the varying degrees of chronic inflammation of the esophageal mucosa.

(3) Pain behind the sternum, stuffy discomfort, or pain when swallowing: The pain may be burning, stabbing, or pulling and friction-like. Symptoms are mild in the initial stage and occur only intermittently. Each episode may last for a short time and may be relieved by medication. Later, the symptoms worsen, recur, and last longer.

(4) Dryness and tightness of the throat: This is an abnormal feeling that may be caused by esophageal lesions causing the pharyngeal esophageal sphincter to contract in the opposite direction.

(5) Pain under the xiphoid process or in the upper abdomen: It manifests as persistent dull pain or burning pain, which often occurs when swallowing food and weakens or disappears after eating, and is inconsistent with the location of the lesion. It may be caused by the uncoordinated esophageal motility caused by the lesion, resulting in strong spasmodic contraction of the cardiac sphincter.

(6) Hoarseness: When cancerous tissue invades or compresses the recurrent laryngeal nerve, vocal cord paralysis occurs, and the patient experiences hoarseness or even aphonia. This is more common in upper esophageal cancer involving the left recurrent laryngeal nerve. Sometimes enlarged metastatic lymph nodes compress the recurrent laryngeal nerve, causing the patient to have hoarseness symptoms. When eating, the patient often has choking and coughing due to aspiration, which sometimes causes aspiration pneumonia. Laryngoscopy shows that the vocal cord on the affected side cannot be abducted but is in the midline position, indicating vocal cord paralysis. The affected vocal cord is usually the left vocal cord, occasionally the right vocal cord.

(7) Hiccups: These are often manifestations of esophageal cancer itself or metastatic mediastinal lymph nodes invading (compressing) the phrenic nerve, leading to diaphragmatic paralysis and motor dysfunction.

(8) Vomiting: It often occurs when dysphagia worsens. Initially, vomiting occurs whenever choking occurs. Later, vomiting occurs whenever eating. In severe cases, vomiting occurs even without eating. Vomitus is mostly things that cannot be swallowed, mainly mucus and food retained above the narrow part of the esophagus.

(9) Respiratory system symptoms: Aspiration and direct invasion of the trachea and bronchi by the tumor may cause the patient to experience cough, dyspnea, and pleuritic chest pain. When swallowing liquid, patients with high esophageal cancer may experience reflux of liquid into the trachea due to esophageal lesions, causing coughing and difficulty breathing. In addition, due to the invasion of cancerous tissue, if the tumor penetrates the trachea and bronchi, mediastinum or large blood vessels in the mediastinum, the patient will show tracheoesophageal fistula, acute mediastinitis or even fatal massive bleeding. At the level of the tracheal carina, the front edge of the left main bronchus is adjacent to the middle esophagus. If the middle esophageal cancer penetrates the left main bronchus, leading to esophageal-tracheal, esophageal-bronchial fistula and aspiration pneumonia, characteristic choking and coughing after swallowing may occur. In severe cases, pneumonia and lung abscess may occur, and some patients may experience hemoptysis.

(10) Weight loss: Weight loss is the second most common symptom of esophageal cancer patients. According to an analysis of a large number of esophageal cancer cases (more than 1,000 cases), about 40% of patients experience weight loss, which is mainly related to dysphagia, vomiting and pain, and is also related to the consumption caused by the tumor itself. If the patient has obvious weight loss and systemic malnutrition, it usually indicates that the tumor has reached an advanced stage, which is also one of the clinical manifestations of cachexia.

The above is the answer to esophageal squamous epithelial hyperplasia. Maybe words cannot give you the most appropriate answer. If you have any problems, you must seek timely treatment. I hope everyone pays attention to their physical health.