Tuberculous involvement of the esophagus is very rare even in the presence of extensive pulmonary tuberculosis or in the endemic area. This is resulted from local extension to the esophagus from contiguous tuberculosis organs or miliary spread. Such secondary involvement is more common than primary tuberculosis, in which there is no evidence of tuberculosis elsewhere. The diagnosis of esophageal tuberculosis may be difficult. So the radiologic, endoscopic, histologic findings and clinical feature including the response to chemotherapy may be needed to avoid misdiagnosis. Most cases can be treated successfully with antituberculosis medication. A 67-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of swallowing difficulty for 2 months. On the gastrofibroscopic examination, 22 cm sized protruding mass with central deep ulceration was discovered at the mid-esophagus. The biopsy showed the ulcer with chronic granulomatous inflammation and multinucleated giant cells consistent with tuberculosis. After antituberculosis medication, the lesion of esophageal tuberculosis was healed completely remaining minimal ulcer scar.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Cicatrix ; Deglutition ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Drug Therapy ; Esophageal Neoplasms* ; Esophagus ; Giant Cells ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; Ulcer