Triplication of the esophagus with gastric duplication

A 2 1/2-year-old girl was seen with an upper abdominal mass. Evaluation by abdominal ultrasonography, esophagography, upper gastrointestinal series, and computerized axial tomography suggested the possibility of duplication of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. Surgery revealed a triplication of the esophagus with a gastric duplication, which was resected. The patient recovered and greatly increased her weight-for-age percentile. Of the theories proposed to explain gastrointestinal duplications, the split notochord hypothesis most closely fits this patient's anomalies. It is unusual for a patient with a gastrointestinal duplication to develop symptoms after the first year of life. This is the first report of a triplication of the esophagus with a gastric duplication.