Is thoracic esophagostomy an option in esophageal perforation in pediatric patients?

Esophagostomy and subsequent esophagectomy are extremely rare operations in the management of benign esophageal perforations in children. In this report, we present a 20-month-old female in whom we performed thoracic esophagostomy and subsequent intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomosis due to esophageal perforation caused by a chronic foreign body. The patient was discharged on the 10th postoperative day, and no complications were observed in the patient, who was followed for four years. The thoracic esophagostomy procedure helps preserve the esophageal length and easy execution of the esophagogastric anastomosis in the thorax. We believe it can be a safe and useful technique in carefully selected cases.