Background: Eponym lists in major sources can give an aura of legitimacy to discredited diagnoses, as exemplified by the case of Barré–Lieou syndrome, a ‘rare’ vestibular disorder.

Methods: A literature review for information on the posterior cervical syndrome of Barré–Lieou.

Results: Barré–Lieou syndrome includes very common symptoms – tinnitus, dizziness, and head or neck pain – attributed to ischaemia caused by cervical sympathetic nerve compression. Its original description brings together many unrelated disorders, and its causative mechanism has been discredited. However, it appears credulously in a number of eponym lists, and references to the syndrome are steadily increasing on the internet in general and on alternative medicine and legal profession websites in particular.

Conclusion: By inclusion in eponym lists, without a disclaimer, a syndrome can be given legitimacy before the general public. A syndrome, such as Barré–Lieou syndrome, that is useless to the medical profession can unfortunately prove to be very useful for litigants and disability claimants.

Forestier's disease (diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis) is characterized by extensive spinal osteophyte formation and endo-chondral ossification of paravertebral ligaments and muscles. Dysphagia in the setting of Forestier's disease is a rare and hence often unrecognized entity. The dysphagia is due to mechanical obstruction in the initial stages and later by due to inflammation and fibrosis. Most of these patients are treated conservatively in the initial stages and later by excision of osteophytes through a lateral cervical approach. We present a case of dysphagia due to cervical osteophytes in the setting of Forestier's disease causing narrowing of the pharynx. The patient was treated surgically via a peroral-transpharyngeal route with excellent results.