Esophageal perforations after anterior cervical surgery

An esophageal perforation after anterior cervical surgery is an uncommon but well recognized complication. During the past 25 years, 44 patients have presented to Craig Hospital (Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury Center) with esophageal perforations; this is the largest series reported to date. There were 34 patients whose esophageal injury was related to the operations performed for cervical fractures, of which 28 patients had plate and screw fixation. The most frequently occurring clinical symptoms were that of neck and throat pain, odynophagia, dysphagia, hoarseness, and aspiration. The most common clinical findings were an elevated temperature, localized induration and neck tenderness, crepitus or subcutaneous air in the neck and anterior chest wall, an unexplained tachycardia, and blood in the nasogastric tube. Imaging studies indicated an esophageal injury in only 32 (72.7%) patients. Twenty-two patients experienced cervical osteomyelitis or an abscess of the neck. Nonoperative treatment is fraught with a high mortality, and 42 patients required surgical repair of their esophageal injury. The length of hospital stay averaged 253 days. Successful management of esophageal perforations depends on the physicians' awareness of the causes, prompt recognition of the symptoms and clinical findings, and immediate institution of treatment.