Cervical esophageal rupture after blunt neck trauma: Surgical primary repair and long-term follow-up

Méndez, Roberto; Tellado, Manuel; Somoza, Ivan; Pais, Ernesto; Vela, Diego

doi:10.1016/j.pedex.2005.10.002

« Previous Next »International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Extra
Volume 1, Issue 1 , Pages 9-11, March 2006

Cervical esophageal rupture after blunt neck trauma: Surgical primary repair and long-term follow-up

Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital, “Teresa Herrera”, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario, “Juan Canalejo”, A Coruña, Spain

Received 3 August 2005; received in revised form 21 October 2005; accepted 27 October 2005.

Summary

Cervical esophageal rupture secondary to non-penetrating injury is exceedingly rare in pediatric patients. Less than 10 cases have been reported in the world literature. We report a case of a 9-year-old boy that suffered an esophageal perforation following cervical blunt trauma. The diagnosis was delayed 48h but surgical primary repair was effective and recovery was uneventful. Early diagnosis and operative management options are discussed.