In patients with head and neck cancer, functional oropharyngeal dysphagia and tracheobronchial aspiration are potential aftereffects of radiotherapy (RT). Likewise, recurrent aspiration is a known cause of bronchiectasis and aspiration pneumonia. However, the signs and symptoms of dysphagia or aspiration may not be clinically obvious, and a high index of suspicion must be born in mind and elicited from the clinical data. Here we present a male with unnoticed recurrent aspiration as an aftereffect of neck RT, discuss our clinical management, and comment on the related literature.
