Gurvits Syndrome: Black Esophagus in the Postoperative Setting

Abstract

The "black esophagus" or "acute esophageal necrosis" is a very rare condition of the esophagus that is believed to have a multifactorial etiology and usually involves the distal esophagus. We present a case of a 66-year-old gentleman who presented with a history of retching followed by one episode of hematemesis two days after his left inguinal hernioplasty. His esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed diffuse ulceration and erosions throughout the esophagus, necrosis of the distal esophageal mucosa till the gastroesophageal junction, and a healed ulcer in the first part of the duodenum. He was managed with supportive care and discharged home in a stable condition.

Into the dark of the black oesophagus

“…However, in the medical literature, the case is reported of a 76-year-old patient who had no possible etiological factors of AEN, except for old age, generalized atherosclerosis, and a clinically silent hypotensive episode [32]. Nowadays, we know that hyperglycaemia is detected in 90% of patients with oesophegal necrosis, which causes diabetes mellitus to be one of the most common factors for AEN [33]. It has been confirmed by some data that AEN is strongly associated with diabetic ketoacidosis in acute gastrointestinal bleeding [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”