[Treatment with Savary-Gilliard bougies in esophageal stenosis in children]

30 patients (less than 15 years old) were admitted for esophageal strictures, 16 of them secondary to corrosive injury. All the patients were treated with endoscopic dilatation with Savary-Gilliard bougie. The dilations were done with general anesthesia using an Olympus GIF-XP10 endoscope and with fluoroscopic control. In the esophageal stenosis secondary to caustic ingestion endoscopic injection with Betamethasone was also used. The most frequent site of the stenosis was the upper third of the esophagus, and the main type of stenosis was tubular in the secondary to caustic burns and annular in the other group. In the post-caustic group 385 dilations were performed in 115 sessions. In the other group 159 dilations were done in 51 sessions. Two perforations and one sepsis were reported in patients with corrosive stenosis. There was no mortality. 43.7% of the patients with corrosive stenosis and 85.7% with stenosis secondary to other causes obtained complete healing. Esophageal dilation with Savary-Gilliard bougies represents a safe and reliable method for the treatment of esophageal strictures.