Neglected Esophageal Injury Presenting with Spontaneously Shrunken Retroesophageal Pocket

Cervical stab wounds with a thoracic-inlet esophageal injury are extremely rare. A 30-year-old man presented with dysphagia and stridor. He had attempted suicide by stabbing his neck with a screwdriver followed by jumping from a building 10 days previously, when a cervical tracheal injury was found and surgically repaired. Physical examination was unremarkable. Lateral cervical radiography revealed an air-fluid level within an extensive retropharyngeal pocket. Follow-up radiography showed that the retropharyngeal lesion had shrunk spontaneously. Contrast esophagography demonstrated an extravasation at the thoracic inlet. The patient underwent surgical exploration of the esophagus via a lower neck incision. A thoracic-inlet esophageal slit was found and primary repair was performed. He resumed oral intake uneventfully on the 8th postoperative day. This was a rare case of esophageal injury secondary to cervical stabbing wounds, presenting with delayed occurrence and spontaneously shrunken retro-esophageal pocket. Esophageal perforation can be easily missed if tracheal lesion is found. Both bronchoscopy and esophagoscopy are mandatory. In patients highly suspected to have esophageal injury but with a negative esophagoscopy result, contrast esophagography is indicated and can decrease the incidence of false-negative results.

並列關鍵字

esophageal injury ； neck ； stab wound ； thoracic inlet

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