Successful Resuscitation of a Child after Exsanguination Due to Aortoesophageal Fistula from Undiagnosed Foreign Body

Abstract

FOREIGN bodies in the esophagus can cause pressure necrosis of the esophageal wall that may lead to perforation, mediastinitis, and formation of an aortoesophageal fistula (AEF). 1 Patients may present with the typical Chiari triad of midthoracic pain, a sentinel hemorrhage of bright red blood, and exsanguination hours to days later. 2 2 We report the successful resuscitation of a child who had exsanguination from an undiagnosed AEF caused by unsuspected foreign body ingestion. We believe that our patient's survival was due to immediate, aggressive volume resuscitation and temporary control of the fistula by inflation of an intraoperatively placed esophageal balloon catheter.