Abstract: Objective: To explore the etiology,prevention and treatment of acute thoracic gastric dilatation(ATGD).Methods: Sixteen patients with ATGD treated in our hospital from Apr.1999 to Aug.2005 were analyzed retrospectively.Results: ATGD usually occurred during 5-12 days postoperatively.The thoracic gastric function of 14 patients receiving non-operative therapy restored during 12-49 days after operation.One patient died from giving up treatment for multiorgan dysfunction syndrome.Eleven cases were cured in four weeks.One patient recovered after re-operation.Conclusions: ATGD is due to multiple factors.The key factor in avoiding ATGD lies on prevention.Functional ATGD can be cured by non-surgical treatment.Gastric outflow tract obstruction must resort to operation.