A successful conservative management of traumatic thoracic esophageal rupture

흉부둔상에 의한 식도파열의 성공적인 보존적 치료

Thoracic esophageal rupture caused by blunt trauma is often not recognized until late because of the vague symptoms in the initial state as well as its rare incidence, which can easily lead to fulminant mediastinitis with frequent fatal outcome. Once extensive mediastinitis occurs, the primary surgical repair of the esophageal tear is considered to be practically impossible. Various methods have been proposed for the management of these desperately ill patients, but no one provides an acceptable good result yet. The purpose of this article is to report the successful result obtained in the treatment of a patient with fulminant mediastinitis from traumatic esophageal rupture by continuous transesophageal irrigation. A 27 year-old male patient was brought to the emergency room of our hospital complaining of dyspnea and chest pain after blunt trauma. The diagnosis of esophageal rupture in the thorax was made late, about 46 hours after the initial injury, when mediastinitis had already progressed. The transesophageal irrigation method was immediately instituted which consisted of profuse transesophageal irrigation of the mediastinum with orally ingested fluid and/or by Levin tube, positioned proximal to the site of the rupture, and drainage of the irrigation fluid by thoracoscopically accurately positioned chest tubes connected to a well suctioning system. With subsiding inflammatory signs and symptoms, the esophagogram, obtained 54 days after the treatment, showed no evidence of the mediastinal leakage of contrast material which contrasted previous esophagograms with definitive dye collections in the mediastinum. Additional endoscopic finding confirmed complete healing of the esophageal mucosa, previously ruptured. He has been followed up without any problem until recently, 6 months after discharge.