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Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

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Ask the Expert

Growth and Nutrition Experts’s Bio Image

Get answers to your child's growth, nutrition, and feeding behavior questions.

Growth and Nutrition Experts’s Bio | Q&A Archive

Note: This is for informational purposes only. Doctors cannot provide a diagnosis or individual treatment advice via e-mail. Please consult your physician about your specific health care concerns.

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Esophageal atresia - Treatment

Alternative Names

Tracheoesophageal fistula

Treatment:

Esophageal atresia is considered a surgical emergency. Surgery to repair the esophagus should be done quickly after the baby is stabilized so that the lungs are not damaged and the baby can be fed.

Before the surgery, the baby is not fed by mouth. Care is taken to prevent the baby from breathing secretions into the lungs.

Expectations (prognosis):

An early diagnosis gives a better chance of a good outcome.

Complications:

The infant may breath saliva and other secretions into the lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia, choking, and possibly death.

Other complications may include:

  • Feeding problems
  • Reflux (the repeated bringing up of food from the stomach) after surgery

Prematurity may complicate the condition.

Calling your health care provider:

This disorder is usually diagnosed shortly after birth.

Call your baby's health care provider if the baby vomits repeatedly after feedings, or if the baby develops breathing difficulties.

  • Reviewed last on: 9/26/2007
  • Deirdre O’Reilly, MD, MPH, Neonatologist, Division of Newborn Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston and Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Previously reviewed by Jenifer K. Lehrer, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Frankford-Torresdale Hospital, Jefferson Health System, Philadelphia, PA. Reviews provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. (10/13/2006)
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
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