{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T11:04:06Z","timestamp":1789643046849,"version":"4.0.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Clin. Med.","JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Dysphagia associated with Wallenberg syndrome (WS) often improves with swallowing rehabilitation; however, persistent cases may require surgical intervention. Various swallowing improvement procedures have been reported, but their strategies and outcomes remain unclear. This scoping review summarized the evidence on swallowing improvement surgery for WS. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Ichushi-Web were searched in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR framework. English- and Japanese-language studies reporting swallowing improvement surgery for WS were included. Patient characteristics, surgical procedures, outcomes, and complications were descriptively synthesized. Results: Twenty-one studies involving 53 patients met the inclusion criteria. Most patients had profound preoperative dysphagia requiring enteral feeding. Cricopharyngeal myotomy was performed in all patients, and at least 66.0% underwent combined procedures, most commonly with laryngeal suspension. Available postoperative data indicated improved oral intake in many patients, although outcome reporting was incomplete. Some patients required staged procedures because a single procedure did not adequately address their complex swallowing impairment. Conclusions: Reported outcomes suggest that swallowing improvement surgery may contribute to improved oral intake in selected patients with WS. The frequent use of combined procedures highlights the importance of individualized, pathophysiology-based surgical management. However, the evidence cannot distinguish surgical effects from spontaneous recovery, rehabilitation, or patient selection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15187217","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T09:59:03Z","timestamp":1789639143000},"page":"7217","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Swallowing Improvement Surgery for Dysphagia in Wallenberg Syndrome: A Scoping Review of the English and Japanese Literature"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Yi-An","family":"Lu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"},{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 33305, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0608-7237","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rumi","family":"Ueha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"},{"name":"Swallowing Center, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Midori","family":"Nanamatsu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6180-3753","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cathrine","family":"Miura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology\u2013Head and Neck Surgery, University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, Quezon City 1113, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ryota","family":"Ishizuka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7115-3229","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naoyuki","family":"Matsumoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4146-0228","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Takao","family":"Goto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"},{"name":"Swallowing Center, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0496-5067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kenji","family":"Kondo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1864","DOI":"10.1093\/brain\/awg169","article-title":"Pure lateral medullary infarction: Clinical-radiological correlation of 130 acute, consecutive patients","volume":"126","author":"Kim","year":"2003","journal-title":"Brain"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"164","DOI":"10.2310\/8000.2013.131059","article-title":"Lateral medullary syndrome: A diagnostic approach illustrated through case presentation and literature review","volume":"16","author":"Day","year":"2014","journal-title":"CJEM"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2081","DOI":"10.1161\/hs0901.094278","article-title":"Dysphagia in lateral medullary infarction (Wallenberg\u2019s syndrome): An acute disconnection syndrome in premotor neurons related to swallowing activity?","volume":"32","author":"Aydogdu","year":"2001","journal-title":"Stroke"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1007\/3-211-27577-0_4","article-title":"Swallowing therapy\u2013A prospective study on patients with neurogenic dysphagia due to unilateral paresis of the vagal nerve, Avellis\u2019 syndrome, Wallenberg\u2019s syndrome, posterior fossa tumours and cerebellar hemorrhage","volume":"93","author":"Prosiegel","year":"2005","journal-title":"Acta Neurochir. 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