Esophageal perforation. A rare complication after operation of degenerative and traumatic pathology of the cervical spine

Esophageal perforation is a rare complication in the surgical treatment of diseases of the cervical spine. Following cervical discectomy for degenerative arthritis at the C6/C7 level, a 42-year-old male patient experienced a progressive dislocation of a PMMA-implant with impending esophageal perforation. Neurological symptoms including dysphagia worsened and a new fusion had to be performed 3.5 months after initial surgery. On the 2nd postoperative day, a laceration of the esophagus was diagnosed clinically and on esophagogram. After drainage, the perforation healed under antibiotic treatment and enteral nutrition through a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy within 5 weeks.