Abstract
Introduction and objectives
Foreign body oesophagus is a commonly seen emergency in ENT. It is seen both in children and adults. When sharp bony foreign bodies such as chicken, fish, and mutton bone gets impacted in the oesophagus, it predisposes the patient to various complications. The foreign body can migrate extraluminally with time and cause retropharyngeal abscess.
Materials and methods
Retrospective study over a period of 6 months from November 2019 to April 2020 of patients with foreign body oesophagus. We came across 20 patients with oesophageal foreign bodies and five of them had associated retropharyngeal abscess. Rigid esophagoscopy with foreign body removal and internal drainage of pus through the oesophageal rent followed by conservative management with intravenous antibiotics based on culture and sensitivity was done.
Results
Patients improved drastically as the pus drained into the oesophagus via the rent in the posterior oesophageal wall and did not require an external incision and drainage. They were discharged in a week.
Conclusion
Removal of partial extraluminally migrated foreign body oesophagus and internal drainage of the abscess followed by nasogastric feeds till the rent resolves and intravenous pus culture-sensitive antibiotics fastens patient recovery and reduces the morbidity associated with external incision and drainage and oesophageal rent repair.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashraf O (2006) Foreign body in the esophagus: a review. Sao Paulo Med J 124:346–349. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-31802006000600010
Chen CY, Peng JP (2011) Esophageal fish bone migration induced thyroid abscess: case report and review of the literature. Am J Otolaryngol 32:253–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjoto.2010.02.006
Brinster CJ, Singhal S, Lee L, Marshall MB, Kaiser LR, Kucharczuk JC (2004) Evolving options in the management of esophageal perforation. Ann Thorac Surg 77:1475–1483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2003.08.037
Weissberg D, Refaely Y (2007) Foreign bodies in the esophagus. Ann Thorac Surg 84:1854–1857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2007.07.020
Monnier P, Savary M (1997) Foreign bodies of the esophagus: a retrospective study in 1436 adults. In: Proceedings of the international congress of thorax surgery. Monduzzi Editore, Bologna, pp 197–200
Cerri RW, Liacouras CA (2003) Evaluation and management of foreign bodies in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Pediatr Case Rev Print 3:150. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.PCA.0000074061.52393.9B
Onat S, Ulku R, Cigdem KM, Avci A, Ozcelik C (2010) Factors affecting the outcome of surgically treated non-iatrogenic traumatic cervical esophageal perforation: 28 years experience at a single center. J Cardiothorac Surg 5:46. https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-8090-5-46
Lam HCK, Woo JKS, van Hasselt CA (2003) Esophageal perforation and neck abscess from ingested foreign bodies: treatment and outcomes. Ear Nose Throat J 82:786–794. https://doi.org/10.1177/014556130308201012
Wang L, Gong W, Feng Y, Wang X, Tang Y, Zhao S et al (2015) Clinical analysis of severe complications induced by esophageal foreign bodies. Zhonghua Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi 50:507–510 (PMID: 26695805)
Am S (1992) Foreign body perforation of the normal oesophagus. Eur J Cardio-Thorac Surg 6:565–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/1010-7940(92)90010-U
Flett R (1945) Oesophageal foreign bodies and their complications. J Laryngol Otol 60:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215100045217
Peng A, Li Y, Xiao Z, Wu W (2012) Study of clinical treatment of esophageal foreign body-induced esophageal perforation with lethal complications. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 269(9):2027–2036. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-012-1988-5
Funding
Nil.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Das, A., Ramasamy, K., Thangavel, S. et al. Internal drainage of retropharyngeal abscess secondary to esophageal foreign bodies: a case series. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 279, 955–959 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06833-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-021-06833-2