Late results of chemical oesophageal burns in childhood

1. Systematic conservative treatment leads to the complete recovery of 75 to 76% of patients with chemical oesophageal burns. The surgeon should be skilled in the techniques and methods of treatment. 2. Recurrences after a sufficiently long treatment by bouginage were observed in 0.6% of all cases. In 22% of cases (the patients came late), a continous control was required. 3. The criteria for operation (not more than 1% of the cases) are as follows: Atresia of the oesophagus, ineffectiveness of skilled conservative treatment, too frequent exacerbations after bouginage. 4. The preferred method of operation is retorsternal prefascial operation employing the right or left sides of the colon. 5. The danger of scarring of the oesophagus and subsequent malignancy is not higher than the risk of completely resecting the damaged oesophagus.