The life-saving emergency thoracic endovascular aorta repair management on suspected aortoesophageal foreign body injury.

BACKGROUND: Fatal aortic rupture caused by esophageal foreign body (EFB), is associated with a high mortality, but can be prevented by thoracic endovascular aorta repair (TEVAR) that performed increasingly as technology improves. This study aims to investigate the cause, management and prognosis of suspected penetrating aortoesophageal foreign body injury.
METHODS: Twelve cases who met the criteria were enrolled in this study. The demographic and clinical data were reviewed for evaluating the characteristics of EFB.
RESULTS: Among 12 cases enrolled, 7 were males and 5 were females, with an age 27-86 years. The distance of EFB from aorta (DFA) of 7 cases were less than or equal to 0 mm, 5 cases were 0-2 mm. Eleven cases were managed with TEVAR, only one case was with open surgery standby but finally treated by flexible endoscopy (FE) successfully, without TEVAR. In group with TEVAR, EFB of 7 cases were successfully removed by rigid endoscopy (RE), and one of them was failed at the first RE treatment. EFB of 2 cases were successfully removed by open surgery with TEVAR, and other 9 cases were managed by endoscopies with TEVAR. The mean length of stay of hospitalization (LOS) and length of ICU stay of patients treated by open surgery with TEVAR (18.50±2.12 days and 5.50±0.71 days) was significantly longer than those of patients treated by endoscopy with TEVAR (7.00±2.74 days and 1.33±1.12 days, P<0.001 and P=0.001, respectively). Five cases had severe complications.
CONCLUSION: Rational application of TEVAR can be a life-saving management for aortoesophageal foreign body injury, and jointed with endoscopy is safe and effective with a shorter length of ICU or total hospital stay. Copyright: © World Journal of Emergency Medicine.