Removal of Esophageal Variceal Bands to Salvage Complete Esophageal Obstruction.

Esophageal varices develop in almost half of the patients with cirrhosis, and variceal hemorrhage constitutes an ominous sign with an increased risk of mortality. Variceal banding is considered an effective and mostly safe measure for primary and secondary prophylaxis. Although adverse events related to banding including dysphagia, stricture formation, bleeding, and ligation-induced ulcers have been described, complete esophageal obstruction is rare, with only 10 reported cases in the literature. Among those cases, 6 were managed conservatively; 1 patient had esophageal intraluminal dissection from an attempt to remove the bands using biopsy forceps but ultimately recovered with conservative management. Three patients developed strictures following removal of the bands, requiring repeated sessions of dilation therapy. We report on a patient who developed absolute dysphagia and complete esophageal obstruction after variceal banding. We successfully used the endoloop cutter hook to release the bands intact and restore luminal integrity.

Sweet outcome for a rare inflammatory condition.

Sweet syndrome is a rare inflammatory condition that was first described by Douglas Sweet in 1964 as an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. It can be associated with infections, inflammatory conditions,pregnancy, drugs, and malignancy. It is usually divided into three subtypes based on etiology: classical(idiopathic); malignancy-associated; and drug-induced. We describe a patient with classical Sweet syndrome who had a dramatic response to corticosteroids.Our patient met the major criteria for diagnosis (positive histopathology and an abrupt onset of a painful rash), along with 4 minor criteria (fever, preceding upper respiratory tract infection, dramatic response to steroids, and leukocytosis).

Severe Ulcerative Esophagitis Induced by Crizotinib Therapy.

Crizotinib is an oral tyrosine-kinase inhibitor that inhibits anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) in gene-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration approved crizotinib for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic ALK-positive NSCLC. The crizotinib adverse events profile included esophageal disorders in 11% of patients treated during trial phases I, II, and III, but none of them had severe events. We describe the development of severe ulcerative esophagitis secondary to crizotinib therapy and the re-introduction of therapy at a lower dose without recurrence of esophageal symptoms.