Esophageal Atresia and Tracheoesophageal Fistula: Purpose

Figure 2:

The issues before esophageal atresia repair:
The baby's condition before these large operations is important. But in addition to
the baby's general condition, there are at least three important issues which will
affect the treatment plan. These are whether or not the baby: (1) is very
premature, (2) or has other serious birth defects in the heart, kidney or elsewhere
or (3) has a type of esophageal atresia that will be difficult to repair. These are
potentially complicating issues that may significantly affect the proposed

Figure 1. Diagram of the main types of EA with or without a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). Type a is EA without a TEF and is often called pure EA. Shown are the blind upper and lower esophageal pouches next to the ringed windpipe (trachea) and the branches (bronchi) which lead to each lung. Type b has a connection (fistula) between the upper pouch and the trachea (a TEF). Type c is by far the most common form of EA and has a fistula between the lower esophagus and the trachea (one form of TEF) with a blind upper pouch.

Visitors at this website will likely have some knowledge of EA/TEF,
nevertheless an introduction may prove useful. There is a lot of
background information available (reference 1).
Infants born with esophageal atresia (EA) have a portion missing (a gap)
in their esophagus, the tube that goes from the back of the mouth to the
stomach. With part of the esophagus missing, the baby cannot swallow
food or even its own saliva. These defects are discovered either before
birth by ultrasound examination or very shortly after birth in the delivery

Our purpose in creating this EA/TEF website is to
provide information to the families of these babies
as well as to health care providers who would like to
review their treatment. Our extensive experience
with the treatment of these infants has led to
important information about the available options.
We believe, the advantages and disadvantages of
the various treatments can be understood and will
be useful to making decisions. We have also found
that the parents and primary care providers are the
best and most effective advocates for these