A CASE OF BRONCHOGENIC CYST OF THE ESOPHAGUS

A bronchogenic cyst is a congenital cyst arising as a result of developmental aberration of the primitive foregut. It rarely arises in the esophageal wall. This paper describes a case of bronchogenic cyst arising in the abdominal esophagus. A 60-year-old man was seen at the hospital because of disturbance in swallowing. A slight smooth stenosis at the cardia was visualized by rcentgenographic study. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and a magnetic resonance imaging revealed that an abnormal mass in the anterior wall of the abdominal esophagus was cystic. Laparotomy was performed, and a tumor protruding from the right side of the abdominal esophagus was removed. The excised tumor was 5.5×5.0×4.0cm in size and 63g in weight with a smooth and grayish white surface. On section cystic wall was thin but elastic hard, and brown and slightly thick liquid was contained. Histological findings revealed that the cyst wall was lined with ciliated columnar epithelium and contained cartilage showing bronchogenic. The cyst was diagnosed as bronchogenic cyst of the esophagus. Only 15 cases of paraesophageal bronchogenic cyst including this case in which the presence of cartilage was confirmed have been reported in Japan.