Ea/Tef
Friday, September 12, 2008 | 4:57 PM
What is Esophageal Atresia and TracheoEsophageal Fistula?
Esophageal Atresia(EA) The Esophagus is the foodpipe which carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Esophageal Atresia is a congential defect which cause the esophagus to be in two parts rather then one continuous connection to the stomach. This stops food and sliva from be swallowed into the stomach.TracheoEsophageal Fistula(TEF)
The trachea is the windpipe, through which the air we breath goes on the way to the lungs. In TracheoEsophageal Fistula the windpipe and the esophagus are connected together in one or more places. Because of this connection either air can pass from the airway into the stomach, or food can pass from the foodpipe into the lungs. 85% of the time these two birth defects are presented together and affect 1 out 4,500 babies born every year. In order to survive major surgery is neccessary. As you can see by the Diagram below there are 5 different ways ea/tef can occur. Sometimes babies who are born with ea/tef are also born with defects to other parts of thier bodies, this is usually refered to as VACTERL Syndrome.|
TYPE |
DESCRIPTION |
DIAGRAM |
|
Type A Esophageal Atresia (7.7%) |
Both segments of the esophagus end in blind pouches. Neither segment of esophagus is attached to the trachea. |  |
|
Type C Esophageal Atresia with Tracheoesophageal Fistula (86.5%) |
The upper segment of the esophagus ends in a blind pouch (EA). The lower segment of the esophagus is attached to the trachea (TEF). This is the most common type of EA/TEF. |  |
|
Type B Esophageal Atresia with Tracheoesophageal Fistula (0.8%) |
The upper segment of the esophagus forms a fistula to the trachea (TEF). The lower segment of the esophagus ends in a blind pouch (EA). This is a very rare form of EA/TEF. |  |
|
Type D Esophageal Atresia with Tracheoesophageal Fistula (0.7%) |
Both segments of the esophagus are attached to the trachea. This is the rarest form of EA/TEF. |  |
|
Type H Tracheoesophageal Fistula (4.2%) |
There is no esophageal atresia as the esophagus is continuous to the stomach. However, fistula is present between the esophagus and the trachea. |  |
*Diagram taken from Ea/Tef Child and Family Support Connection