Congenital Tracheoesophageal Fistula in the Adult

Abstract

Congenital tracheoesophageal fistula can persist and remain undetected until adulthood. We have recently encountered such a case and reviewed the others reported in the English literature. Commonly, symptoms are present during infancy, but an occasional patient develops symptoms only later in life. Diagnostic confirmation may be quite difficult, and the esophagogram appears to be the most reliable test. Chronic pulmonary suppuration is unusual, and most tracheoesophageal fistulas may be satisfactorily repaired by way of a cervical approach.