Giant Epiphrenic Diverticulum: A Challenging Case

Abstract

A diverticulum is a limited saccular protrusion of the esophageal wall, communicating with its lumen. Anatomically, esophageal diverticula are classified into pharyngoesophageal, median, and epiphrenic. Treatment of esophageal diverticula is based on several basic pathophysiological principles. Small and asymptomatic diverticula do not require specific treatment. Large and symptomatic diverticula require surgical intervention, consisting of diverticulectomy combined with myotomy. Operations for symptomatic epiphrenic diverticula make up no more than 2% of all operations on the esophagus. We describe a case of an epiphrenic diverticulum with the dimensions 88x60x90 mm in a 54-year-old patient. Surgical treatment of this disease was performed according to the Lewis method. The article also describes methods of dealing with concomitant postoperative complications and a brief review of the literature on epiphrenic diverticula.

Keywords

• epiphrenic diverticula
• lewis operation
• eventration