Review of rigid esophagoscopy in a tertiary hospital in Ghana

Rigid esophagoscopy is a common endoscopic procedure worldwide for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Even though this procedure is performed commonly in our center no published reports exist. We reviewed our experience with rigid esophagoscopy. This was a 9-year review of rigid esophagoscopy, done under general anaesthesia, at ENT and Cardiothoracic Units of Tamale Teaching Hospital. Parameters evaluated were patients´ demographics, indication for rigid esophagoscopy and outcome of the procedure. One hundred and fifteen cases of rigid esophagoscopies were evaluated. The ages ranged from 10 months to 87 years with a peak incidence 69.6% (n = 80) occurring within the first decade of life and a male preponderance of 54.8% (n = 63). Majority of the cases were emergencies 87.8% (n =101) and for therapeutic reasons 87% (n =100). The most common findings during esophagoscopy were: coins 60.9% (n = 70), fish bone 11.3% (n = 13), esophageal tumours 7.8% (n = 9) and dentures 5.2% (n = 6). All the cases were successfully treated with no mortality recorded. Rigid esophagoscopy was more commonly performed in males with peak age incidence occurring during the first decade of life. Emergency patients and esophagoscopy with therapeutic intent constituted the largest two groups in this study. Coins, fish bone, esophageal tumours and dentures were the most common findings. There was no mortality recorded.