Esophageal Perforation: 9 Cases

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H.S. Lee, M.D., H.S. Yu, M.D. Esophageal perforation occurred rarely but often lead to a high mortality and morbidity. In the past, the main cause of esophageal perforation in Korea were instrumental perforation in patient with lye stricture of the esophagus. We experienced 9 cases of other forms of esophageal perforation from 1972 through 1977 and obtained the following results. 1. These 9 patients ranged from 10 months to 40 years in age at the time of admission. Six were women. 2. Causes of perforation are instrumental perforation in 3, foreign body perforation in 3, spontaneous perforation in 3 and one pneumatic esophageal perforation. 3. Perforation developed in a variety of locations in the esophagus. Three occurred in cervical part, two in the upper thoracic part, two in the lower thoracic part. 4. The main clinical symptoms and signs were dyspnea, subcutaneous emphysema, chest pain and fever. 5. Thoracic rentgenogram disclosed subcutaneous and mediastinal emphysema, widening of mediastinum and pleural effusion at the time of admission. 6. Complications of esophageal perforation were mediastinitis [7 cases], empyema [4 case], respiratory distress [4 cases] and sepsis [3 cases]. 7. In 3 deaths of the nine patients who sustained perforation of the esophagus, one was due to transfusion of infected blood and two of them were due to sepsis following empyema and mediastinitis. Early treatment [less than 24 hr] gave no hospital death, and good results obtained in the perforations of cervical and upper thoracic esophagus.