Tracheoesophageal fistula and esophageal atresia repair

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• Your child may breathe saliva and fluids from the stomach into the lungs. This is called aspiration. It can cause choking and pneumonia (lung infection).
• Your child cannot swallow and digest food safely, or at all.

Your child will be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or infant care center (ICC) as soon as the doctors diagnose either of these problems.

Your baby will receive nutrition by vein (intravenous, or IV) and may also be on a breathing machine (ventilator). The nurses may use suction to keep fluids from going into the lungs.

Some infants who have a low birth weight or other birth defects may not be able to have surgery until these other problems have been treated or have gone away.

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After surgery, your child will be cared for in a hospital's NICU. Your child will be placed in a special bed called an isolette (incubator), which provides warmth and helps prevent infection.

Additional treatments after surgery usually include:

• Antibiotics as needed, to prevent infection
• Breathing machine (ventilator)
• Chest tube (a tube through the skin into the chest wall) to drain fluids and keep the lungs open
• Intravenous (IV) fluids, including nutrition
• Oxygen
• Pain medicines as needed

If both the tracheoesophageal fistula and esophageal atresia are repaired:

• A tube will be placed through the nose into the stomach (nasogastric tube) during the surgery.
• Feedings are usually started through this tube a few days after surgery.
• Feedings by mouth are started very slowly. The baby may need feeding therapy and a lot of encouragement.

If only the tracheoesophageal fistula was repaired and not the esophageal atresia, a gastrostomy tube will be used for feedings until the atresia can be repaired.

• While your baby is in the hospital the nurses will show you how to use and replace the gastrostomy tube.
• You will also be sent home with an extra gastrostomy tube. The nurses will inform a home health supply company of your equipment needs.

How long your infant stays in the hospital will depend on what type of surgery your child needed. You will be able to bring your baby home once he or she is taking feedings by mouth or gastrostomy tube, and is gaining weight.