Primary repair of iatrogenic thoracic esophageal perforation and Boerhaave's syndrome.

Ten patients seen at our unit over a 24-month period with either iatrogenic (n = 5) or spontaneous thoracic esophageal perforations (n = 5) were retrospectively reviewed. Five patients were seen within 24 hours of onset of symptoms, and 5 were seen after 24 hours or later. There was no significant difference in the presentation or subsequent clinical course in patients seen less or more than 24 hours after the onset of symptoms. Nine patients underwent primary repair together with drainage of the mediastinum, and in 1 of these a Heller's myotomy was also performed for achalasia. One patient had a two-stage esophagogastrectomy for a benign esophageal stricture. One patient (10%) with a spontaneous perforation died 48 hours after operation and was found at postmortem examination to have an in situ carcinoma at the site of the perforation. Four patients (40%) had nonfatal complications. Fistulas developed in 3 patients (30%); in 1 of these patients a second thoracotomy and a further rib resection was required for drainage of a mediastinal abscess. An esophago-cutaneous fistula and a persistent mediastinal abscess developed in 1 patient (10%) and necessitated two further thoracotomies for effective drainage. The mean hospital stay was 38.4 +/- 25.4 days (range, 16 to 76 days). The findings of this study suggest that primary repair combined with a drainage procedure is the treatment of choice for patients with a perforated intrathoracic esophagus, including those seen more than 24 hours after the onset of symptoms.