The spontaneous rupture of the esophagus is an uncommon disease, but without early diagnosis and treatment, the mortality rate is high. This report is on the two cases treated at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, College of
Medicine, Kyungpook National University.
The first patients, after heavy drinking, had vomiting followed by chest pain, dyspnea and subcutaneous emphysema. After diagnosis using an esophagogram, an operation was perfomed. About a 4 cm rupture was found lower left part of the esophagus
and
was
primarily sutured with the intercostal muscle. The patient was weaned from the ventilator after 40 hours.
The second patient had symptoms the same as the first case. Six days after the appearence of the symptoms, the patient was treated by the Thals onlay gastric patch method. The leakage happened after the surgery and he received a conservative
treatment.
After discharge no abnormalities, such as leakage and stricture, were found on the esophagogram.
The two patients now live a normal life.
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