ince the first description of spontaneous esophageal rupture by Hermann Boerhaave in 1724, Boerhaave's syndrome has been thought to be a very rare, fatal disease. In general Boerhaave's syndrome is commonly associated with alcohol abuse, antabuse
ingestion, esophageal hiatal hernia and peptic ulcer perforation. Pathophysiologically the rapid increase in
the esophageal intraluminal pressure that accompanies vomiting lead to expansion and rupture.
The diagnosis of this syndrome is usually delayed because of relative lack of conventional
symptoms and sings, physician's lack of familiarity with the disease, and difficulties in
differential diagnosis with other mimicking diseases.
We report a case of Boerhaave's syndrome, a stable patient who presented epigastric pain
after several violent vomitings associated with alcohol ingestion and review the relevant
literature.
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