Table Some Causes of Esophageal Dysphagia Mechanism Examples Motility disorder Achalasia Chagas disease Diffuse esophageal spasm Systemic sclerosis Eosinophilic esophagitis Mechanical obstruction Peptic stricture Esophageal cancer Esophageal rings Esophageal webs Radiation stricture Extrinsic compression (eg, caused by an enlarged left atrium, an aortic aneurysm, an aberrant subclavian artery [termed dysphagia lusoria], a substernal thyroid, a cervical bony exostosis, or a thoracic tumor) Caustic ingestion Complications Oropharyngeal dysphagia can lead to tracheal aspiration of ingested material, oral secretions, or both.