[Management of caustic esophagitis in adults]

The experience of surgical management of caustic ingestion in adults started a quarter of a century ago in the Paris Poisons Centre. It was found that, inasmuch as certain cases of massive ingestion require major emergency surgery, the patient must be received by a competent surgical unit, associated with an Intensive Care Unit with permanent availability of gastrointestinal and tracheobronchial fibroscopy. The assistance of an ENT surgeon can be precious, and a psychiatrist is often necessary. The Saint Louis Hospital visceral surgery unit in Paris has developed a specialized on-call system. Its current experience concerns approximately one thousand patients. Comparison with other French or European experiences at the time of preparation of this report, presented to the 97th French Surgery Congress in 1990, allows the definition of a consensual management.