2010 Volume 43 Issue 1 Pages 27-32
We report a case of esophageal perforation following photodynamic therapy (PDT) and cervical lymph node dissection for recurrent cervical esophageal cancer. A 72-year-old woman diagnosed with cervical esophageal cancer (cT2N0M0, stageII) had an initial "complete cure" response after definitive chemoradiotherapy. About 10 months later, however, she was diagnosed with locoregional failure and cervical lymph node metastasis, undergoing endoscopic mucosal resection and PDT for the primary site and cervical lymph node dissection 47 days later as salvage treatment. On postoperative day (POD) 2, she was diagnosed with esophageal perforation refractory to conservative therapy, necessitating pectoralis major myocutaneous flap surgery. The possibility of esophageal perforation after PDT for esophageal cancer should thus be considered even more than 1 month later.
