Corrosive Stricture in Oral Cavity-A Rare Presentation

Abstract

Introduction: Corrosive injury of the upper gastrointestinal tract has been commonly reported in medical literature. It can be due to ingestion of acid or alkali and may be accidental or suicidal. The extent of injury varies from involving the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum either individually or together but oral cavity is rarely involved.
Case Report: We present a young male of twenty-six years who presented with complaint of dysphagia for last two months. He had history of incidental ingestion of corrosive six months back and was symptomatically treated for the same for one month by some local private practitioner. He remained asymptomatic after that and now developed inability to swallow solid food for last two months and was surviving on liquids only. He was seen by ENT specialist at our institute and was then referred to our department for opinion. On evaluating in detail, patient admitted that he is not able to swallow solid food into food pipe and it stucks in oral cavity and then he has to throw out the solid food but he is able to take liquid diet but in small amount and that too slowly. He was heamodynamically stable and his baseline routine investigations were essentially normal. He was subjected to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy which revealed a tight stricture in oral cavity at level of uvula and scope could not be negotiated beyond it. The patient underwent surgical intervention by parent ENT department and has now completely recovered.
Conclusion: Rare presentations are rarely seen but merits vigil for timely diagnosis and proper line of management.