Bs. Quah et al., Lung abscess: An unusual presentation of congenital tracheoesophageal fistula without atresia, J PED SURG, 33(12), 1998, pp. 1817-1819
Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) without atresia is rare and usually present
s with symptoms from birth. In this report, a 9-year-old boy presented with
productive cough of 4 month's duration and was shown to have a right lung
abscess seen on chest radiograph. His parents denied earlier respiratory sy
mptoms or illnesses. Rigid bronchoscopy showed a fistulous opening of about
1 mm in diameter in the posterior wall of the trachea about 16 cm from the
upper incisor teeth. Cannulation with a ureteral catheter demonstrated tha
t the fistulous opening communicated with the esophageal lumen. The tracheo
esophageal fistula was 1 cm long and was divided through a right supraclavi
cular incision. The postoperative period was uneventful, and the patient wa
s discharged on the third postoperative day. This case demonstrated that TE
F should be considered in any patient presenting with chronic respiratory p
roblems even after a prolonged symptom-free period. J Pediatr Surg 33:1817-
1819. Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B. Saunders Company.