Case Report
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World J Gastrointest Surg. Jun 27, 2013; 5(6): 199-201
Published online Jun 27, 2013. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v5.i6.199
A black perforated esophagus treated with surgery: Report of a case
Roosmarijn Lysbeth Groenveld, Alderina Bijlsma, Pascal Steenvoorde, Alaattin Ozdemir
Roosmarijn Lysbeth Groenveld, Pascal Steenvoorde, Department of Surgery, Medisch Spectrum Twente, 7513 ER Enschede, The Netherlands
Alderina Bijlsma, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
Alaattin Ozdemir, Department of Intensive Care, Medisch Spectrum Twente, 7513 ER Enschede, The Netherlands
Author contributions: All the authors contributed equally to this manuscript.
Correspondence to: Roosmarijn Lysbeth Groenveld, Department of Surgery, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Haaksbergerstraat 55, 7513 ER Enschede, The Netherlands. r.groenveld@mst.nl
Telephone: +31-53-4872000 Fax: +31-53-4872000
Received: February 2, 2013
Revised: April 2, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: June 27, 2013
Processing time: 141 Days and 17.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: We describe a clinical case with a review of relevant literature of the rare syndrome black esophagus, also known as acute esophageal necrosis or Gurvits syndrome. It concerns a case of a perforated black esophagus treated with video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). To our knowledge, this is the first case published of early VATS used in a case of perforated black esophagus.