A case report of Boerhaave's syndrome
Sreekanth Reddivari, Carlo Nunes, Emyr Humphries and Christopher Fox
William Harvey Hospital, East Kent NHS Trust, UK
Corresponding address:
Sreekanth Reddivari,
34 Drake Road, Willesborough,
Ashford, Kent, TN24 0UP,
UK.
Tel.: +44 (123) 363 3331;
E-mail: sreekanthreddivari@yahoo.co.uk
We report a case of Boerhaave's syndrome in a previously fit
57-year-old lady with an aetiological association with a
co-existing duodenal ulcer. We discuss the diagnostic
difficulties presented by this case, the importance of prompt
diagnosis and intervention, and the problems involved in the
management that are highlighted in this case. This is an
extremely rare but well recognised entity. A 1980 review by Kish
cited only 300 cases worldwide; a small percentage were
diagnosed post mortem (John BE, Zua MS. Boerhaave's
syndrome---an elusive diagnosis. Tenn Med 1997; 90: 56--8).
Key words
Spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus; oesophageal perforation;
transmural perforation of the oesophagus; emesis complications.
Click
here to view article
Click
here for printer-optimised version
