Blunt thorax oesophageal stripping: an emergency procedure for caustic ingestion

We report our experience with an original procedure which we have applied to the management of acute necrotic caustic burns of the upper gastro-intestinal tract. Blunt thorax oesophageal stripping is performed through a cervicotomy and a laparotomy, thus avoiding a wide pleural exposure and the frequent and often fatal respiratory complications of a thoracotomy. The stripping method permitted survival of 13 of 17 patients and is thus considered to be a safer and more successful technique than open thoracic oesophagectomy.