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[Members Only] J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 108(6): 329-332, 2007
Feature topic
PRESENT AND FUTURE TREATMENT OF ESOPHAGEAL ATRESIA
There has been steady improvement in the overall survival rate of patients with esophageal atresia during the past 30 years. With modern neonatal intensive care, very low birth-weight infants with esophageal atresia are also expected to survive. However, there are many questions in the treatment including delayed primary surgery and multistaged esophageal elongation for extremely low birth-weight infants and patients with long-gap esophageal atresia, respectively. On the other hand, reports of thoracoscopic repair of esophageal atresia are increasing, although there has been no report on long-term follow-up. This procedure has many advantages including wound cosmesis and little thoracic deformity, but it is technically difficult even for experienced endoscopic surgeons and is performed only in a few children's hospital in Japan. Easier thoracoscopic surgery using robotic technology is expected in the near future.
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