Recurrent spontaneous esophageal rupture

Spontaneous rupture of the esophagus is a relatively uncommon event, and recurrent rupture is extremely rare. We present a patient who experienced and survived 2 spontaneous perforations of the esophagus, occurring 6 years apart. A 43-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with upper abdominal pain after vomiting. Esophagoscopy, esophagogram, and computed tomography were suggestive of esophageal rupture. Emergency left thoracolaparotomy revealed a 20-mm perforation of the left lower esophageal wall that had been previously repaired. After the perforation was repaired with a single-layer closure, the mediastinum and pleural cavity were drained. The patient recovered well and was discharged from the hospital on postoperative day 29. To the best of our knowledge, only 7 previous cases of recurrent spontaneous esophageal perforation have been reported in the literature.