[Crohn's disease of the esophagus. Apropos of a case]

The authors report a case of Crohn's disease of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum in a 34-year-old patient. The esophagus was affected three months after diagnosis of the ileo-rectal lesion. They discuss clinical and therapeutic aspects of the condition. They stress the value of upper endoscopy with multiple biopsies in providing the diagnosis. Treatment is essentially medical, surgery being restricted to fistulas after failure of medical treatment and parenteral nutrition, and to severe stenoses after failure of endoscopic dilatation.