COMPLETE THORACIC ESOPHAGUS OBLITERATION: CLINICAL CASE REPORT.

Area of Science:

• Surgery
• Gastroenterology
• Clinical Case Study

Background:

• Complete esophageal obliteration is a severe condition often resulting from chemical burns, leading to dysphagia and poor quality of life.
• Management requires complex surgical intervention, particularly in non-standard intraoperative situations.

Observation:

• A 41-year-old patient with severe post-burn cicatricial esophageal stricture and complete thoracic esophagus obliteration presented with Grade IV dysphagia.
• The patient was in a very severe general condition, necessitating a multi-stage surgical approach.

Findings:

• The treatment involved a staged surgical strategy: initial Stamm-Senn-Kader gastrostomy, followed by angiography and embolization of the right colic artery.
• Subsequent procedures included cologastroanastomosis, feeding colostomy, intrapleural esophagocoloanastomosis, and eventual closure of the gastrostomy, restoring natural food passage.
• The patient survived and experienced no postoperative complications during an 8-year follow-up period.

Implications:

• This staged surgical treatment demonstrates effectiveness for complete esophageal obliteration due to post-burn stricture and severe dysphagia.
• The approach significantly improves the patient's quality of life by restoring esophageal function.