Ischaemic necrosis of subcutaneous colonic neoesophagus: an unusual complication of presternal hypertrophic scar

Jain V, Rodrigues GS, Gupta K
Correspondence: Dr Vikas Jain, dr_vikasin@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT
 Hypertrophic scars and keloids not only pose aesthetic problems but also cause functional and anatomical dysfunction by leading to contractures and sometimes by compression of underneath structures. A 76-year-old man presented with progressive dysphagia of two months duration. Examination showed the unusual complication of a presternal hypertrophic scar, causing ischaemic necrosis of a subcutaneously-transposed colon, used for oesophageal reconstruction in a patient with inoperable carcinoma of the oesophagus. Such a complication of hypertrophic scar has never been reported in the literature.

Keywords: hypertrophic scar, keloid, oesophageal carcinoma, oesophagus, oesophagoplasty
Singapore Med J 2006; 47(3): 235-236