Assessment of esophageal leak with oral fluorescein

Esophageal perforation may occur spontaneously or as a complication of esophageal operations. Treatment often mandates emergency operative intervention to close the leak or to provide adequate drainage. Recurrent or persistent leak can lead to prolonged drainage before final healing. We describe herein a minimally invasive and inexpensive technique using fluorescein dye that can confirm the persistence of esophageal leak drained by tube thoracostomy without requiring expensive and potentially morbid invasive or radiological techniques. Application of this technique assists in diagnosis when previously described minimally invasive techniques are impractical or yield inconclusive results.