[Empyema from spontaneous esophageal rupture treated by thoracoscopic surgery].

A 61-year-old man who had been admitted for vomiting and abdominal pain 5 days before at another hospital was transferred to our hospital. He was diagnosed as pyo-pneumothorax, and chest drainage was initiated. Seven days after admission, food residue was observed in the drainage tube. A subsequent gastrointestinal fiberscopic examination could not identify the esophageal injury, but the acute empyema caused by spontaneous esophageal rupture was suggested by clinical signs. Thoracoscopic surgery for curettage and irrigation of the pleural cavity was performed. Esophageal rupture could not be confirmed at surgery. Spontaneous closure of the fistula was observed 2 weeks post-surgery.