Traumatic perforation of the esophagus in a neonate

ABSTRACT

The case of a one day old premature baby is reported, where the oesophagus was perforated iatrogenically while attempting to pass a rigid nasogastric tube. The presentation mimicked oesophageal atresia and led to the erroneous diagnosis of perforation of the upper pouch of an oesophageal atresia. The pitfalls in diagnosis are discussed with analysis of the literature