A modified method for the repair of esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula.

Forty patients with esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula were operated upon during a period of 2 years, 39 of them with the end-to-side anastomosis technique. According to Waterston's classification, the survival rate was 91 percent for Group A (11 patients), 60 percent for Group B (15 patients), and 14 percent for Group C (14 patients). A prospective study carried out with the first 30 patients showed that the partial removal of the mucosa of the lower esophagus, just distal to its junction with the trachea, reduced significantly the incidence of recanalization of the tracheoesophageal fistula.