title: Subclavian arterio-esophageal fistula secondary to fish bone impaction: report of a case.
abstract: A 48-year-old Indian man swallowed a fish bone and presented 1 week later with dysphagia, following a single episode of fresh hematemesis. A barium swallow demonstrated a horizontal mucosal tear at the level of the aortic arch, and computed tomography (CT) showed mediastinal emphysema and a bleeding point medial to the left subclavian artery which appeared to be contained by a surrounding hematoma. Subsequently, he developed sudden massive hematemesis and collapsed. Despite emergency surgery, the patient died. At the postmortem examination, a 1.2-cm fistula tract was found connecting the esophagus to the left subclavian artery. This case report emphasizes that a diagnosis of arterio-esophageal fistula should be considered if a patient presents with fresh hematemesis and a recent history of foreign body ingestion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National University Hospital, Republic of Singapore.
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Leow
mesh_terms: D004937:Esophageal Fistula / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005402:Fistula / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D006396:Hematemesis / Q000209:etiology*; D006406:Hematoma; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013348:Subclavian Artery; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology