Since its description over 250 years ago, diagnosis of esophageal perforation remains challenging, its management controversial, and its mortality high. This rare, devastating, mostly iatrogenic, condition can quickly lead to severe complications and death due to an overwhelming inflammatory response to gastric contents in the mediastinum. Diagnosis is made with the help of esophagograms and al...

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is a rare but aggressive tumor that accounts for <1% of all esophageal neoplasms.1 Worldwide, approximately only 250 cases have been published in the English literature to date,2 however, individual case reports have been described in the radiology literature.3,4 We report 2 male patients with histopathologically confirmed primary malignant melanomas ...

OBJECTIVE Report our experience in the diagnosis and treatment of Boerhaave syndrome by retrospective study from 1997 to 2013. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective study was conducted covering the time frame of 1997 to 2013. RESULTS There were a total of 5 men (71%) and 2 women (29%) and the mean age was 54 years (range: 33-80 years). Diagnosis was made through computed tomography scan in 5...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS With the success of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) in treatment of achalasia, its successful application to other spastic esophageal motility disorders such as Jackhammer esophagus has been noted. The question of whether the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) should be included in the myotomy for Jackhammer esophagus is a topic of current debate. Here, we report our e...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To determine the incidence and risk factors of pharyngocutaneous fistula formation in patients undergoing either primary or salvage laryngectomies and evaluate the role of barium esophagram in these patients. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. METHODS Medical records of 259 patients who underwent total laryngectomy between 2003 and 2009 at our institution were re...

Left atrial radiofrequency catheter ablation guided by a 3-dimensional electroanatomic mapping system (CARTO, Biosense-Webster, Diamond Bar, Calif) was performed in a 67-year-old woman with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. To avoid delivery of radiofrequency energy near the esophagus, the patient was asked to swallow 5 cm of barium paste (E-Z-EM, Lake Success, NY) before conscious sedation, as d...

The purpose of this retrospective study was to clarify the predictive factors correlated with esophageal stenosis within three months after radiation therapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer. We enrolled 47 patients with advanced esophageal cancer with T2-4 and stage II-III who were treated with definitive radiation therapy and achieving complete response of primary lesion at Kyushu Unive...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Prior studies have established a 1.7-4.33% readmission rate for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), a rate that falls within the reported range for other bariatric procedures. The current report describes the incidence of 30-day readmission after primary LSG procedures performed at a single bariatric center of excellence (COE) and examines factors that may be associ...

Premature infants are particularly at risk of iatrogenic pharyngoesophageal perforation. It is a rare occurrence but when it does occur it often mimics esophageal atresia. We presented a case of a term neonate who presented with a hypopharyngeal perforation that resulted during ritual procedure (Ghaanti) done by grandmother. Clinical findings, a plain chest xray, an esophagography and endoscopy...

BACKGROUND The optimal therapeutic schedule in patients with achalasia is still under discussion. The aim of this study was to review our institution's experience with myotomy and dilation in patients with achalasia. MATERIAL AND METHODS Clinical data were available for 59 patients who had ever had myotomy (n=38), dilation (n=21), or both procedures (n=8) between 2000 and 2007. Patients were ...