Morphology of the reparative processes in the early period following chemical burns of the esophagus]

Changes in 25 esophaguses following burns with cauterizing substances in patients treated with hormonal steroids and by bougienage were studied using histochemical methods. Effects of acids and alkalies were revealed at early stages of burn disease and consisted of lesions of a various depth of the esophagus wall. Formation of scars started from the first days after burns and led to the rearrangement of the esophagus wall. A year following the burn the healing of the damaged esophagus was not completed, and changes therein acquired a character of necrotic-ulcerative esophagitis. Hormonal treatment brought about a decrease in leucocytic infiltration in the esophagus wall. The periods of development of scars in the esophagus of patients treated with hormonal preparations according to the conventional scheme and treatment by bougienage coincided.