Overview
Mallory-Weiss syndrome is a clinical picture of the oesophagus or stomach. Frequent choking and vomiting leads to tears in the mucous membrane of the esophagus, usually in cases where the mucous membrane has already been damaged. A common reason for a damaged mucous membrane is excessive alcohol consumption.
In Mallory-Weiss syndrome, bleeding from the torn gastric mucosa occurs. This can be more or less severe, depending on the type of vessel. Usually the bleeding originates from veins, but if arteries are the source, immediate treatment may be necessary.
Usually, surgery is not necessary and the bleeding stops by itself. The patient then vomits blood (hematemesis). Another prominent symptom is very severe pain in the upper abdomen, which may radiate to the chest.
In Boerhaave syndrome, the disease process is comparable to Mallory-Weiss syndrome, but there is a tear in the esophagus. Not only must the internal wound be treated surgically immediately, the patient must also undergo antibiotic therapy, otherwise there is a risk of blood poisoning (sepsis). With the Boerhaave syndrome it comes behind the breastbone to a destruction pain in such a way specified.
This is called so, because the patients concerned classify the pain as greatest possible. If a high-risk pre-existing condition is known, a gastroscopy can be performed in acute upper abdominal pain to clarify the cause. In this way, a haemostatic treatment is also possible if the bleeding does not stop spontaneously as in 90% of cases.
Staples or some kind of glue are used for this. Under medical observation the prognosis is good. Future protection of the esophagus and the administration of a gastric tablet are advisable.
Causes
The tears in the mucous membranes can cause bleeding into the stomach cavity and this in turn can cause vomiting. The vomit is darkly colored by the combination of stomach acid plus blood “coffee grounds”. If this happens more often, the affected person experiences severe pain in the upper abdomen and loss of appetite occurs.
The stomach acid can cause severe damage to the mucous membrane of the esophagus. Continued contact of gastric acid with the unprotected mucous membrane of the esophagus can lead to chronic inflammation and consequently to cancer of the esophagus. Since Mallory-Weiss syndrome is by definition limited to the mucous membrane of the esophagus and stomach, there is usually no massive blood loss with shock-like conditions.
This occurs when larger, deeper vessels are involved. If the blood is drained off naturally via the gastrointestinal tract and reaches a quantity of over 100ml/day, so-called tarry stools can occur. Tar stools are caused by the bacterial breakdown of blood in the intestinal tract. The stool turns black and becomes sticky. or blood in the stool – these are the causes!
