[Esophageal perforation caused by a foreign body. Apropos of a case report]

This report describes an esophageal foreign body perforation treated with T-tube drainage. The clinical diagnosis was delayed erroneously and by the absence of extravasation of water--soluble contrast material. The diagnosis has finally been made by a fiberoptic oesophagogastroscopy and a mediastinal computed tomography. As the external drainage by pleural drainage was inefficient, the authors opted for a surgical treatment, and the perforation was closed on a T-tube. Considering this case as well as the review of the different reports, urgent surgery seems to be only recommended for large esophageal perforations and for small non-cervical perforations where external drainage is inefficient.