Esophageal Atresia

Overview :

Failure of an unborn child (fetus) to develop properly results in birth defects. Many of these defects involve organs that do not function, or function only incidentally, before birth, and, as a result, go undetected until the baby is born. In this case, the digestive tract is unnecessary for fetal growth, since all nutrition comes from the mother through the placenta and umbilical cord.

During fetal development, the esophagus and the trachea arise from the same original tissue. Normally, the two tubes would form separately (differentiate); however, in cases of esphageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistulas, they do not, resulting in various malformed configurations. The most common configuration is the "C" type, in which the upper part of the esophagus abruptly ends in a blind pouch, while the lower part attaches itself to the trachea. This configuration occurs in 85-90% of cases. Esophageal atresia without involvement of the trachea occurs in only 8% of cases.