Perforation of esophagus and subsequent mediastinitis following mussel shell ingestion.
Esophageal perforation is a very rare occurrence because accidental swallowing of foreign bodies is uncommon in adults. Thus, perforation due to swallowing of a foreign body and subsequent development of mediastinitis is rarely encountered by physicians. We experienced such a case and described an adult male patient who had perforated esophagus after accidentally swallowing a mussel shell. The patient visited our emergency department complaining of painful dysphagia for 4 days. A review of history revealed that he consumed a spicy seafood noodle soup containing mussel shells 4 days ago. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest showed the foreign body in the esophagus and pneumomediastinum was identified. We removed the mussel shell fragment using rigid esophagoscopy; explo-thoracotomy, debridement of mediastinal abscess and irrigation were performed.
Departments of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
Il Hwan
IH
Park
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
Hyun Kyo
HK
Lim
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
Seung Woo
SW
Song
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
Kwang Ho
KH
Lee
Esophageal perforation; foreign body; mediastinitis; mussel shell