Two Cases of Esophageal Injury Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: One Overt and One Covert

Esophageal perforation is a dreaded complication of anterior cervical spinal surgery. A 52-year-old diabetic man had undergone a surgery for a C6-C7 disc prolapse and developed spiking fever with chills and rigor on the 7th postoperative day. No cause could be found out but a CT scan of thorax done in the course of investigations revealed pneumomediastimum. The patient succumbed on the 10th day after surgery. Autopsy revealed the cause of death to be mediastinitis following iatrogenic esophageal perforation. A second patient, 53 years of age, following surgery for C5-C6 disc prolapse and developed intractable dysphagia. Later, fever and purulent discharge from the wound prompted an MRI showing prevertebral collection extending to the superior mediastinum. Presuming only wound infection, debridement and implant removal was done. However persistent serous discharge from the wound revealed an esophageal injury. Late diagnosis precluded primary repair. With conservative treatment, the fistula finally closed after 42 days. Postoperative dysphagia, a common complaint following surgery, may not always be present in cases of esophageal injury. A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosing and initiating treatment for esophageal perforation before complications set in.