Achalasia is a rare disorder characterised by obstruction of the distal oesophagus and subsequent dilation of the proximal oesophagus. Patients generally complain of gastrointestinal symptoms; however, pulmonary symptoms and complications may also occur. A 35-year-old woman was brought to our emergency service complaining of sudden-onset dyspnea that started 15 minutes earlier during dinner. Sh...

Most epithelial cancers occur on the background of chronic exposure to damaging agents which is reflected in the long lag phase from development of a pre-invasive lesion to the development of a carcinoma. Luminal refluxate has long been recognized to be associated with Barrett's oesophagus, although causal mechanisms have not been clearly defined. Recently, obesity and dietary nitric oxide have...

Oesophageal cancer affects more than 450000 people worldwide and despite continued medical advancements the incidence of oesophageal cancer is increasing. Oesophageal cancer has a 5 year survival of 15%-25% and now globally attempts are made to more aggressively diagnose and treat Barrett's oesophagus the known precursor to invasive disease. Currently diagnosis the of Barrett's oesophagus is pr...

IT was in 1849 that Rokitanski noticed the relative frequency with which gastric and oesophageal lesions were found in patients who had died of intracranial disease. Cushing, in 1932, described eleven cases of alimentary tract lesions occurring in association with intracranial disease; two of them had rupture of the oesophagus. Fincher and Swanson (1949) described three cases of neurogenic rupt...

Evidence is accumulating that vitamin D may be protective against carcinogenesis, although exceptions have been observed for some digestive tract neoplasms. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between dietary vitamin D and related nutrients and the risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma and its precursor conditions, Barrett's oesophagus and reflux oesophagitis. In an all-Ire...

BACKGROUND Coins are made of metal, which is generally radiopaque, and so physicians often have the misconception that all coins are detectable by radiography. Here, we report a case of intentionally swallowed coins in the oesophagus of an adult; the coins could not be detected on chest radiography but were detected using computed tomography (CT). CASE PRESENTATION A 46-year-old woman with a ...

INTRODUCTION Perforated oesophagus is a surgical emergency with significant morbidity and mortality. Systemic fungal infection represents a poor response to the magnitude of the insult, which adds significantly to the risk of morbidity and mortality in these patients. We reviewed our experience with this group of patients over a six-year period in a tertiary referral centre. METHODS A retros...

A 39-year-old woman drank one tablespoon of white vinegar in order to 'soften' crab shell stuck in her throat. Endoscopy revealed inflammation of the oropharynx and second-degree caustic injury of the oesophagus extending to the cardia. She had an uneventful recovery. This case report confirmed that vinegar could cause ulcerative injury to the oropharynx and oesophagus. The folklore application...

The operation of oesophagoplasty and Nissen fundoplication has proved valuable in the management of intractable peptic stricture of the oesophagus. This report concerns its use in perforation of the oesophagus in an 81-year-old woman with benign peptic stricture in whom perforation occurred during instrumentation. She made an uneventful recovery from operation and remained well and able to swal...

Figure 1: (A) Chest radiography revealed a 1.5-cm radio-opaque density at the level of the T4-5 vertebrae. (B and C) Chest computed tomography demonstrated bilateral neck subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum with a tubular structure, 15 cm in length, in the cervical and upper thoracic oesophagus. (D) The upper posterior mediastinal pleura were opened, and a ballpoint pen was found betwe...