Esophageal stenosis (obstruction)
Esophageal stenosis (obstruction) is a condition in which an obstacle appears in the esophagus, due to which the diameter of the esophagus narrows, and food cannot pass further. This disease can be acquired and congenital.
Reasons
ulcers;
ingestion of aggressive liquids that can cause chemical burns;
the presence of scars after surgery. Narrowing can be single and multiple, consist in partial or complete obstruction of food through the esophagus;
the presence of tumors;
cardiospasm (confluence of the esophagus into the stomach), diverticula (sac-like protrusion of the walls of the esophagus into the lumen);
foreign bodies (small toys, buttons, bones, etc.);
infectious diseases: tuberculosis, mycosis, etc.;
diseases of connective tissue, resulting in the proliferation of fibrous tissue and the esophagus decreases in diameter;
injuries.
Symptoms
belching, which has a specific smell of rotten eggs;
nausea;
lonophagia is the appearance of pain in the process of swallowing or digesting food. Sometimes it can hurt under the left shoulder blade, as in a heart attack;
bleeding;
reduction of body weight.
If the disease is congenital, then during the feeding of a small child, there may be constant regurgitation, profuse salivation. If the stenosis is acquired, then the main sign of its manifestation is dysphagia – a disorder of the swallowing function.
Dysphagia has 4 degrees of severity:
The 1st degree is characterized by difficulty swallowing food, accompanied by pain;
The 2nd stage is characterized by the use of liquid and semi-liquid food;
The 3rd stage is characterized by the use of only liquid food;
The 4th stage differs from the others by the impossibility of swallowing anything at all.
Diagnostics
After collecting data on your complaints and family diseases, a specialist can prescribe a blood and urine test to exclude pathologies (anemia, anemia, etc.). The following are used as instrumental diagnostic methods:
endoscopic examination of the esophagus. They are used to examine the mucous wall, to perform a biopsy, to determine the size and degree of narrowing of the esophageal lumen;
fluoroscopy provides detection of filling defects in areas of the esophagus, the presence of tumors that can exert pressure on the esophagus from the outside;
esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) – examination and evaluation of the inner surface of the esophagus, stomach using an endoscope;
CT, MRI, esophageal manometry – to find the cause of esophageal stenosis;
Also, as additional measures of determination, esophagoplasty (placement of a graft), bougie of the esophagus (with a gradual increase in the size of the bougie to expand the walls of the esophagus) is used.
Methods of treatment
Treatment is complex with the main focus on the correction of the diet. The method depends mainly on the cause of stenosis.
For example, if the cause was a chemical burn, then boogie is performed, if tumor growths are found, then everything depends on its size and goodness and an appropriate surgical operation is prescribed.
The medical method of treatment consists in the use of drugs that increase the protective functions of the body, reduce and neutralize the production of hydrochloric acid, stimulators of tissue regeneration, etc.
