Relationship between the Characteristics of Esophageal Hiatal Hernia and Mallory-Wise Syndrome in Aged Patients.

Objective: Esophageal hiatal hernia is not such a rare disease in aged patients because they often have diaphragmatic muscle weakness and lumbar spondylosis. Design: A clinical study. Materials and Methods: We analysed 16 cases of esophageal hiatal hernia and 2 cases of esophageal hiatal hernia with Mallory-Weiss syndrome. Results: An 87-year old woman was admitted to our hospital because of chest discomfort and breathing difficulty after lunch. Chest X-ray and chest computed tomography (CT) demonstrated an enlarged stomach behind the heart. The respiratory symptoms were diagnosed as a secondary esophageal hiatal hernia. She was discharged from our hospital. She was well and in good condition after then. Conclusions: Mallory-Weiss syndrome refers to bleeding from a laceration in the mucosa at the junction of the stomach and esophagus. There is some evidence that presence of a hiatal hernia is a predisposing condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]