[Endoscopic vacuum therapy for Boerhaave's syndrome]

Operative and interventional treatment of Boerhaave's syndrome include closure of the esophageal defect and drainage of the septic focus. Initial reports on the use of endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) of Boerhaave's syndrome are now available. This article describes the experiences gained from the clinical application in two patients using this new surgical endoscopic procedure. The current literature regarding treatment of Boerhaave's syndrome is presented.

Open-pore drainage is endoscopically placed either through the transmural defect in the extraluminal wound cavity (intracavitary EVT) or overlapping the defect into the esophageal lumen (intraluminal EVT). The application of a negative pressure results in active drainage directed to the lumen and simultaneously in defect closure. Through these therapeutic measures the perforation defect and the septic focus can be healed. Open-pore drains are manufactured from drainage tubes and open-pore foam or an open-pore film.

In both patients the distal esophageal perforation defects were completely healed using EVT. In 1 patient the treatment with EVT alone lasted 8 days. For the second patient EVT was combined with an open thoracotomy for decortication of pleural empyema. The treatment with EVT lasted 23 days and 1 cycle of EVT was carried out with an new open-pore film drainage (OFD). Surgical treatment to close the defect or an esophageal resection was not necessary for both patients. In the currently available studies and single case reports of ETV for Boerhaave's syndrome, 11 patients (84 %) of a total of 13 patients have been successfully treated.

First clinical experiences have demonstrated that with EVT draining of the septic focus and closure of the Boerhaave defect at the gastroesophageal junction can be achieved. The EVT is an organ-preserving endoscopic surgical treatment, which can be an alternative and complementary to traditional surgery.