US-guided transhepatic drainage of a mediastinal abscess

Anastomoses often leak after esophageal surgery; if they are not detected in time, leaks can give rise to complications like fluid collections, superinfections, and mediastinitis. Although these complications usually require surgical treatment, different series of patients successfully treated with conservative or minimally invasive approaches have been reported.

We present the case of a patient who developed a mediastinal abscess after epiphrenic diverticulectomy. We treated the abscess with US-guided percutaneous transhepatic drainage to avoid surgical reintervention. Although other cases of a transhepatic approach to thoracic lesions have been reported, to our knowledge this is the first report of this technique in mediastinal abscesses.

We recommend that transhepatic drainage be considered a therapeutic option in the management of these complications.

CITATION Radiologia. Sep-Oct 2014;56(5):e21-4.  doi: 10.1016/j.rx.2011.11.010. Epub 2012 Mar 29.