Case Report
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World J Gastrointest Surg. Jun 27, 2013; 5(6): 199-201
Published online Jun 27, 2013. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v5.i6.199
A black perforated esophagus treated with surgery: Report of a case
Roosmarijn Lysbeth Groenveld, Alderina Bijlsma, Pascal Steenvoorde, Alaattin Ozdemir
Roosmarijn Lysbeth Groenveld, Pascal Steenvoorde, Department of Surgery, Medisch Spectrum Twente, 7513 ER Enschede, The Netherlands
Alderina Bijlsma, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
Alaattin Ozdemir, Department of Intensive Care, Medisch Spectrum Twente, 7513 ER Enschede, The Netherlands
Author contributions: All the authors contributed equally to this manuscript.
Correspondence to: Roosmarijn Lysbeth Groenveld, Department of Surgery, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Haaksbergerstraat 55, 7513 ER Enschede, The Netherlands. r.groenveld@mst.nl
Telephone: +31-53-4872000 Fax: +31-53-4872000
Received: February 2, 2013
Revised: April 2, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: June 27, 2013
Abstract

A case of a perforated black esophagus treated with minimal invasive surgery is presented. A 68-year-old women underwent a right-sided hemihepatectomy and radio frequency ablation of two metastasis in the left liver lobe. Previous history revealed a hemicolectomy for an obstructive colon carcinoma with post-operative chemotherapy. Postoperatively she developed severe dyspnea due to a perforation of the esophagus with leakage to the pleural space. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) to adequately drain the perforation was performed. Gastroscopy revealed a perforated black esophagus. The black esophagus, acute esophageal necrosis or Gurvits syndrome is a rare entity with an unknown aetiology which is likely to be multifactorial. The estimated mortality rate is high. To our knowledge, this is the first case published of early VATS used in a case of perforated black esophagus.

Keywords: Black esophagus, Acute esophageal necrosis, Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery, Gastrointestinal surgery, Perforated esophagus

Core tip: We describe a clinical case with a review of relevant literature of the rare syndrome black esophagus, also known as acute esophageal necrosis or Gurvits syndrome. It concerns a case of a perforated black esophagus treated with video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). To our knowledge, this is the first case published of early VATS used in a case of perforated black esophagus.