BACKGROUND In treating severe corrosive injury of the esophagus and stomach, prompt diagnosis, adequate fluid resuscitation and warranted surgical intervention are the most important factors in rescue of critically ill patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the need for, and the advantages of, a surgical approach to treatment of such corrosive injuries to the upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract, as well as to select the most suitable technique to achieve a good survival rate. METHODS From January 1983 to December 1991, 220 patients were treated for caustic ingestion injury to the UGI tract. A retrospective review of their records allowed targeting of 27 patients with severe corrosive injury that surgical intervention was required. In this study, peritoneal sign was taken as the key indicator for early emergency operation. The age, sex, elapsed time from injury to operation, the sort and quantity of caustic agent used, injury mechanism, clinical manifestations, alternative surgical treatment methods and causes of death were also reviewed and analyzed in this study. RESULTS The patients included 13 men and 14 women, of whom the majority were adults (96.3%) who had attempted suicide (85.2%). All of them had taken liquid corrosive agents, usually hydrochloric acid (63%). Eighteen underwent emergency operations; the other nine received only supportive treatment, given their terminal status. The mortality rates for patients with surgery and supportive treatment were 66.7% and 100%, respectively. Four patients died after undergoing esophagectomy with resection of the stomach using the thoracoabdominal method. Only three of the eight patients who received esophageal stripping combined with resection of the stomach through the abdomen died (37.5%). CONCLUSIONS The time elapsed between injury and development of peritoneal sign is a good indicator of the severity and extent of the injury. When peritoneal sign manifests at a very early stage, it is an indicator that the corrosive injury is very advanced in its progress and that, no matter what procedures were performed, the outcome would be the same. Yet if there were a six-hour gap then aggressive surgical management can rescue some patients. It is recommended based on experience here, that when using the surgical approach, resection of the stomach with stripping of the esophagus is superior to the thoracoabdominal method.