Esophageal cyst, a case report and a review of the literature.

The esophageal cyst is a rare disease only 20 cases of which have been reported in the literature in Japan. We recently treated such a patient and at thoracotomy, we found the cyst to be located the submucosal layer of the esophagus. The cyst could be easily extirpated and the patient made an uneventful recovery. Gross findings revealed thick, yellow and mucus-like contents inside the cyst. Microscopically, the cyst was lined with ciliated columnar epithelium and there was no evidence of cartilage. The 21st such occurrence in Japan is reported herein and a discussion is made of related literature.