CONGENITAL ESOPHAGEAL WEBS

Congenital esophageal webs are rare entities. These lesions generally occur in the upper one third of the esophagus and present symptomatica lly in early childhood. Dysphagia and 'feeding' difficulties are chara cteristic presenting symptoms. Radiographic studies generally reveal a normal appearing esophageal lumen with the exception of a single thin indentation of the esophageal lumen that is located either anteriorly or circumferential in nature. We describe two children with congenita l esophageal webs and review the pathophysiology, diagnosis and manage ment of these unusual lesions. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.