MANAGEMENT OF CAUSTIC ESOPHAGITIS IN ADUL TS

The experience of surgical management of caustic ingestion in adults s tal ted a quarter of a century ago in the Paris Poisons Centre. It was found that, inasmuch as certain cases of massive ingestion require ma jor emergency surgery, the patient must be received by a competent sur gical unit, associated with an Intensive Care Unit with permanent avai lability or gastrointestinal and tracheobronchial fibroscopy. The assi stance of an ENT surgeon can be precious, and a psychiatrist is often necessary. The Saint Louis Hospital visceral surgery unit in Paris has developed a specialized on-call system. Its current experience concer ns approximately one thousand patients. Comparison with other French o r European experiences at the time of preparation of this report, pres ented to the 97th French Surgery Congress in 1990, allows the definiti on of a consensual management.