Ghaziabad: Two patients who have rare cases of broken food pipes, are also known as Boerhaave syndrome, undergo successful surgery at the private city hospital and now recover.
The patients, over 50 years old, underwent a series of operations that stretched for 12 hours at the Max Hospital to repair damage to the esophagus (food pipeline) and the lungs and body parts where the gastric content (acidic properties) had accumulated.
The doctor said Boerhaave syndrome was rare and very deadly, where the death rate of their untreated or without surgery was almost 100%.
This requires a very complex thoracic operation to restore food pipes and eliminate acumulated acid in other parts of the body.
The two cases were reported only a few days apart at the hospital.
On July 14, Sanjay Nigam (53), a resident of Vigyan Vihar Delhi, ate burgers late at night and went to bed.
He vomited later and experienced severe pain in the stomach and chest, because he could not wake up.
He was taken to Max Hospital in Vaishali and after a series of tests that put aside a heart attack, found in the CT scan and X-Ray that he suffered a broken food pipe and needed an immediate operation.
In the second case, Ashok Kumar Chandak (61), a resident of Nehru Nagar in Ghaziabad, was questioned to a hotel on July 18 at Sahibabad along with his family to attend a wedding.
At night, he took snacks from Chapati, pulses and rice and went to bed.
Around 2:30 a.m., he complained of digestive disorders and vomited twice.
He complained of severe back pain and began to pound.
Worried that he had a heart attack, his relatives rushed to the hospital, where he was also found to suffer from Boerhaave’s syndrome.
Dr.
Sharad Joshi, the main consultant, Pulmonology Department, Max Vaishali, said, “The two patients have symptoms, including chest pain and back that are severe, after vomiting episodes.
The diagnosis is challenging because the symptoms are similar to a heart attack.
CT scan with oral contrast confirms it.
Chest tubes are placed to drain the liquid collected around the lungs and then patients undergo marathon surgery to repair damage.
“Broken food pipes after episodes of vomiting are fatal complications, with 70% high mortality.
Delay diagnosis and definitive management can be proven fatal, Dr.
Joshi added.
Dr.
Roman Dutta, senior consultant, thoracic surgery and robots, said the patient underwent three operations – thoracotomy to repair food pipes, toracoscopic operations assisted videos to eliminate the accumulation of gastric contents from the lungs and operations to attach food pipes to provide nutrition for patients.
“The patients were fed through this pipe for six weeks and after recovery, they were allowed semi-solid food by mouth.
After full recovery, they can eat normally,” he said.
Survival depends on the size of the perforation, the number of leaks and when medical assistance is given.
“Patients must be rushed to hospital if they complain of pain by vomiting,” added Dr.
Dutta.