Barotraumatic perforation of the pharyngo-oesophagus secondary to a Lambrini “bottle explosion”

Summary

An interesting case of a middle-aged woman who sustained oral lacerations and pharyngeal tear/perforation on opening a bottle of Lambrini sparkling wine with her teeth is presented. The patient presented to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department with bleeding from the mouth and dyspnoea, and on examination had a neck surgical emphysema and visible laceration to the oropharynx. On further investigation, including a range of imaging modalities, a diagnosis of pharyngeal tear/perforation was made, detected on a gastrograffin swallow test. The patient was subsequently treated conservatively, being kept nil by mouth and fed through a nasogastric tube, with prophylactic antibiotic cover. The patient was re-imaged 1 week later, which displayed complete resolution of the tear, and was subsequently discharged on a normal oral diet.