The authors operated on 6 patients with spontaneous rupture of the esophagus (SRE). In 1 patient only, the diagnosis was established at initial examination by a physician. The remaining patients were transferred to the department of thoracic surgery at day 2, 3, 4, 9 and 12 from the onset of the disease. In patients with suspected SRE, the contrast esophagography with water-soluble contrast medium was performed. All the patients with SRE were operated on. Two patients died from purulent-septic complications. They were operated on at day 9-12 from the onset of the disease.