Esophageal perforation following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

Abstract

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is one of the most common spinal surgeries performed in the US but is associated with various morbidities. Esophageal perforation is one of the rarest complications of ACDF, but it is potentially fatal, therefore requiring timely detection and treatment. We present three cases of esophageal perforation after ACDF.

Key Points

• Esophageal perforation is a rare but potentially fatal complication of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) that can be a result of iatrogenic injury or hardware erosion, among other causes.

• Symptoms of esophageal perforation can range from asymptomatic to dysphagia, neck/chest pain, and hoarseness. Many of these symptoms are also general complaints from patients following ACDF, so it is imperative to consider esophageal perforation in the differential to prevent delayed diagnosis of this serious complication.

• While there is no gold standard universal approach to treating esophageal perforation, primary surgical repair and hardware removal are mainstays of treatment for early and delayed cases.

Keywords:

• Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
• case series
• postoperative complication
• esophageal perforation
• hardware complication

Disclosure statement/Funding

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). The planners and faculty for this activity have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. The authors report no funding. The patients consented to publication of this case report.