Spontaneous esophageal rupture treated with staged operations.

Spontaneous esophageal rupture is a life-threatening entity. Here, a 64-year-old male who presented with sudden onset of severe back pain was diagnosed as having an esophageal rupture to the right pleural cavity. Emergency operation was carried out 16 hours after the onset. The rupture was as large as 7 cm and the surrounding tissue was fragile and necrotic. We performed an esophagectomy as a primary salvage procedure. An esophageal reconstruction was carried out successfully 6 months after the initial operation. Staged operative strategy including esophagectomy is still an important option to treat this kind of high risk patient.