Benign acquired bronchoesophageal fistula in an adult

Abstract

A 45-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of bronchoesophageal fistula, after a barium esophagography performed in an annual medical check-up had demonstrated an esophageal diverticulum in the middle of the thoracic esophagus, having a narrow bridge between the right intermediate bronchi. The patient had a history of tuberculosis in her childhood, and chest radiography showed multiple calcified hilar lymph nodes. The fistula was observed on gastroenteroscopy and on bronchofiberscopy. The patient was treated surgically, with ligation and resection of the fistula. The fistulous tract was attached to a calcified hilar lymph node, and both the diverticulum and fistula were concluded to have been caused by the tuberculous lymphadenitis in her childhood. It is very uncommon to have bronchoesophageal fistula, caused by tuberculosis in childhood, diagnosed and treated surgically at more than forty years later.