The absence of clinically significant tracheomalacia in patients having esophageal atresia without tracheoesophageal fistula

The association of tracheomalacia (TM) with esophageal atresia (EA) has been well described. This study attempted to find a correlation between the severity of TM and the presence or absence of an associated tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) in patients with EA. A review of all patients presenting at this institution with EA through the years 1970 to 1990 was carried out. Six patients with EA without fistula (type A) and 61 patients having EA with fistula (types B, C, D, and E) were analyzed. Five of the six type A patients required esophageal dilatations and antireflux procedures; none had clinically significant TM. Thirty-five of the 61 patients with fistula required esophageal dilatation, and 8 had an antireflux procedure; 11 (18%) required either long-tube tracheostomy or aortopexy for TM. This small study supports a recent hypothesis of different embryological events resulting in different types of esophageal and tracheal anomalies. When EA occurs without fistula, it appears that no significant alteration in tracheal development occurs.