Esophageal web

This photograph is one of the bottom portion of the esophagus, which is narrowed. There is a web at this level. Often people are born with these webs, and when they are very tight, they can cause difficulty swallowing food. If that is the case, we can stretch them out with what we call dilators, which allows the food to pass more easily. This is felt to be a completely benign condition, and other than being troublesome, with difficulty swallowing food, it does not cause any serious problems.