BACKGROUND Proximal or 'downhill' esophageal varices are a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Unlike the much more common distal esophageal varices, which are most commonly a result of portal hypertension, downhill esophageal varices result from vascular obstruction of the superior vena cava (SVC). While SVC obstruction is most commonly secondary to malignant causes, our review of...

We report the causes and characteristics of benign tracheoesophageal fistulas (TEF) in 14 cases and investigate the effects of different stenting methods in the treatment of TEF. Among the 14 cases, 2 cases resulted from inflammation, 8 cases from post-esophagectomy complications, 2 cases from complications of esophageal stenting for anastomotic strictures, and 2 cases from complications of che...

INTRODUCTION The management of esophageal strictures has evolved from surgical treatment to the endoscopic dilation and, more recently, esophageal stenting. CLINICAL CASE We describe a case of a two-year-old boy with a double stenosis of the esophagus resulting from accidental ingestion of strong alkaline liquid. After several unsuccessful endoscopic dilations for three years and even topical...

A 36-year-old woman presented with high grade peptic stenosis in the distal esophagus (●" Fig.1). After three consecutive sessions of steroid injection/dilation with disappointing results, a biodegradable polydioxanone esophageal stent (SXElla-BD, 25×80 mm; Ella-CS, r. s.o., Hradec Kràlové, Czech Republic) was inserted (●" Fig.2). The patient experienced retrosternal pain for a short period of ...

We report Down syndrome (DS)-associated congenital gastrointestinal (GI) defects identified during a 15 year, population-based study of the etiology and phenotypic consequences of trisomy 21. Between 1989 and 2004, six sites collected DNA, clinical and epidemiological information on live-born infants with standard trisomy 21 and their parents. We used chi-squared test and logistic regression to...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Alkaline reflux esophagitis is a complication that might develop in patients with total gastrectomy. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence and severity of reflux esophagitis and the occurence of complications (Barrett's esophagus and esophageal stenosis) in patients with total gastrectomy and Roux en Y esojejunostomy. METHODS 92 patients with total gastrectomy...

A 2-day-old preterm female neonate weighing 1.6 kg and having excessive frothing from mouth was investigated for suspected esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula. X-ray findings of an unusually low-ending upper pouch (up to T8 level) and the absence of gas in abdomen lead to suspicion of an unusual variety of esophageal atresia. Hence unlike the usual management of pure esophageal atr...

Esophageal duplication cyst is a rare congenital anomaly. They can be associated with other congenital anomalies, such as spinal abnormalities, and tracheoesophageal fistulas. In adults, almost of the patients with esophageal duplication cyst is asymptomatic and accidentally diagnosed by chest X-ray or computed tomography. However, cysts may become symptomatic owing to complications such as eso...