Handling Boerhaave’s Syndrome

Abstract

Boerhaave’s syndrome or spontaneous oesophageal perforation is characterised by barogenic oesophageal injury. This leads to contamination of the pleural cavity with enteric contents and various degrees of injury.1 The syndrome is named after Herman Boerhaave, a Dutch physician, who first described it in 1724. Incidence of spontaneous rupture amongst all oesophageal ruptures varies between 15-38%.2,3 Mallory-Weiss tears are assumed to represent part of the spectrum of the spontaneous perforation, but it is likely that these mucosal injuries reflect shearing rather than barogenic trauma.