The Most Common Causes of Benign Esophageal Stricture in Children and the Success Rate of Endoscopic Balloon Dilatation, a Single-Center Experience

Benign esophageal strictures are not rare. Over the past two decades, endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD) has been used to treat them.

The purpose of this study was to identify the most common causes of benign esophageal stricture in children determine the success rate of endoscopic balloon dilatation.

Children younger than 16 years with benign esophageal strictures referred to the endoscopy department during one year (2016 - 2017) were enrolled. After obtaining written consent from parents, endoscopy balloon dilatation was performed with two types of balloon catheters. Response to treatment was evaluated based on clinical symptoms and was classified according to the Vantrappen table score.

In this study, thirty-one (31) children participated including 19 (61%) boys and 12 (39%) girls. The mean age was 5.1 ± 3.9 years. The most common causes of esophageal stricture were: achalasia (45%), esophageal atresia (19%), stenosis due to the caustic ingestion (19%), another congenital stenosis (16%). Overall, 27 children (87.1%) had a good response to treatment. In children with stenosis due to caustic ingestion, the inappropriate response was higher than the rest (33%). However, only in 4 (12.9%) patients, balloon dilatation failed. No complications were observed.

Achalasia, esophageal atresia, and caustic ingestion are the most common cause of benign esophageal stricture in the children. EBD is an effective and safe treatment in these children, even in cases of previous surgery and recurrence. If this procedure is performed by an expert using appropriate balloon catheters, no complications will be created.