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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2006;30:940-942
© 2006 Elsevier Science NL

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Esophageal reconstruction with intraoperative dilatation of the hypopharynx for the management of chronic corrosive esophageal strictures.

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^a Unit of Esophageal Surgery, Athens Medical Center, Athens, Greece
^b Department of Vascular Surgery, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece

Received 19 June 2006; received in revised form 28 August 2006; accepted 1 September 2006.

^_* Corresponding author. Address: 11 Riga Feraiou Street, Pefki 15121, Athens, Greece. (Email: paraskevask{at}hotmail.com).

Chronic corrosive strictures of the upper cervical esophagus and hypopharynx resulting from ingestion of caustic substances are a challenging surgical entity when repeated endoscopic dilatations fail to yield satisfactory results. Restoring the continuity of the upper digestive tract by esophageal substitution at healthy tissue margins not only compromises the integrity of the swallowing mechanism, but also often requires the performance of a tracheostomy in order to ensure avoidance of recurrent aspirations. We describe three cases of corrosive upper cervical esophageal strictures treated with intraoperative dilatation of the proximal hypopharyngeal stump and concurrent ‘stenting’ of the pharyngeal anastomosis with the conduit replacing the esophagus. All patients tolerated the procedure well. Avoidance of both impairment of deglutition and respiratory complications, as well as restoration of normal esophageal function, was successfully accomplished.

Key Words: Esophageal strictures • Reconstruction of the esophagus • Corrosive injury of the esophagus • Caustic esophageal injury