Negative pressure wound therapy for cervical esophageal perforation with abscess

Perforation of the cervical esophagus is a rare but life-threatening condition. Cervical esophageal perforation with abscess formation can be usually treated with conservative treatments of simple drainage and antibiotics. Aggressive surgical treatments are considered if conservative treatments fail. But the aggressive treatments have low success rate and high morbidity in cervical esophageal perforation. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was widely used in various complicated wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, open abdomen, pressure ulcers, open fractures, sterna wounds, grafts, and flaps since it had been introduced in 1997. NPWT is known to be a valuable tool in the management of various complicated wounds. In this report, we described a case of intractable cervical esophageal perforation with abscess, which was successfully treated with NPWT after the failure of conservative management.