OBJECTIVETo study the characteristics of diagnosis and surgical treatment of esophageal leiomyoma.

METHODSPreoperative radiology, esophagoscopy and results of surgical treatment were retrospectively analyzed in 141 patients with esophageal leiomyoma.

RESULTSDysphagia (64.5%) and chest or epigastric pain (20.6%) were the most common presenting symptoms with a mean duration of 15.7 months. Eleven patients had been misdiagnosed as malignant esophageal disease, mediastinal or retroperitoneal tumor before operation. Thirteen patents received partial esophageal resection, including 2 patients with gigantic tumor, 3 still misdiagnosed as malignancy in the operation theater and 8 accompanied with esophageal or gastric cardiac carcinoma. 128 patients were treated with tumor removal only, among whom the esophageal mucosa was ruptured and sutured in 13 patents. The tumor was single in 130 patients and multiple in 11 patients. The tumor shape was either oval, horseshoe-or ginger-like. Tumor surrounded the esophagus less than half circumference in 75 patients, more than half in 59 patients and involved the whole circumference in 7 patients. The tumor was polypoid and intraluminal in one patient. It was extraluminal in 2 patients and was intramural in all the others. The morbidity and 30-day mortality rates were 3.6% and 0%.

CONCLUSIONPreoperative differentiation of esophageal leiomyoma is important for it may be misdiagnosed as esophageal malignant disease or mediastinal tumor. Tumor removal only is indicated if possible. Biopsy is inadvisable if leiomyoma has been suspected by esophagoscopy. The incidence of esophageal carcinoma complicating esophageal leiomyoma is high, of which the reason needs further study.