Tracheoesophageal fistula and oesophageal atresia

After surgery

After surgery, your child will be kept in the intensive care unit and placed in an incubator. They may also need:

antibiotics
a machine to help them breathe (ventilator)
atube into theirchest to drain fluidsor air that might be trapped
oxygen
pain medication

Your baby will be given nutrition intravenously at first, but you should be able to feed them after a few days using a feeding tubepassed into their stomach through their nose.

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018

Articles for tracheoesophageal fistula and oesophageal atresia

Introduction

Oesophageal atresia is a rare birth defect that affects a baby's oesophagus (the tube through which food passes from the mouth to the stomach).

Causes of oesophageal atresia

Oesophageal atresia is thought to be caused by a problem with the development of the oesophagus while the baby is in the womb, although it's not clear exactly why this happens. The condition is more

Diagnosing oesophageal atresia

Doctors may suspect your baby has oesophageal atresia before they're born if routine ultrasound scans show a lot of amniotic fluid in the womb, although this can have a number of causes. Tests to che

Repairingthe defects

An operation to repair an oesophageal atresiaand tracheo-oesophageal fistula is usually done soon after birth. Your baby will be taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, where they're given a gener

After surgery

After surgery, your child will be kept in the intensive care unit and placed in an incubator. They may also need: antibiotics a machine to help them breathe (ventilator) atube into theirchest to

Going home

You'll be able to take your baby home once they're taking food by mouth. This will usuallytake a week or two.You'll be advised about how to feed your child when they get home and as they get older. B

Risks of surgery

With any surgery, there is a small risk of bleeding and infection. For this particular operation, the additional risks are: food or air leaking from the area being repaired narrowing of the repair

Outlook

Most children who have had surgery to repair oesophageal atresia and/or tracheo-oesophageal fistula will go on to have normal lives. However, there's a chance your child may experience some further p

Information about your child

If your child hadoesophageal atresia as a baby, your clinical team will pass information about him or her on to the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Diseases Registration Service (NCARDRS). This

Health News