title: Isolated Esophageal Injury Following Blunt Thoracic Trauma: A Rarity.
abstract: Esophageal injury following blunt trauma to chest is an extremely rare event, with only a limited number of cases being reported in the world literature. We report a case of perforation of the lower thoracic esophagus following a crush injury to the chest in a 14 year old child. An appropriately placed chest drain and decompression gastrostomy resulted in complete resolution of the esophageal leak within four weeks. This case report demonstrates that a conservative approach to lower thoracic esophageal perforations can be carried out successfully without the added morbidity of thoracotomy and risks of direct repair.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Pt.B.D.Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (P.G.I.M.S.), Rohtak-124001, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Satish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dalal
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Pt.B.D.Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (P.G.I.M.S.), Rohtak-124001, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Nityasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dalal
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Pt.B.D.Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (P.G.I.M.S.), Rohtak-124001, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Pawan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goyal
keywords: Blunt injury; Esophageal tear; Thoracotomy