Sports Esophageal Injury - A Case Report

A 13 year old male presented to the emergency department with a history of penetrating injury in the supra-sternal region by the hook of goal post while playing football. Further evaluation revealed pneumomediastinum with suspected esophageal injury. Although, there was injury in the midline, its injured the esophagus instead of the trachea, to everyones utter surprise. Primary repair of esophagus was performed due to early presentation and minimal contamination. UGI contrast study was done on the 6th postoperative day, which showed no leakage. Liquid diet was started the same day. Patient was discharged on day 8. The patient was followed up for 3 months and was doing well. Sports related esophageal injuries are extremely rare and to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports in literature.