Eccezionale caso di atresia esofagea di tipo I

An extremely rare case of type A esophageal atresia is reported. The baby girl patient born spontaneously after a 38-week pregnancy, was diagnosed prenatally with suspected type A esophageal atresia. Diagnosis was confirmed at birth by chest and abdominal X-ray. As per protocol, a naso-esophageal tube was positioned in aspiration and a Stamm gastrostomy made for nutritional purposes. Evaluation of the distance between blind pouches at one month of life showed they were overlapping. At intervention the pouches were found to be united by a fibrous bridge about 1.5 cm long. Anastomosis was carried out with ease. The postoperative course was trouble-free. On the X day the baby girl was being fed completely per os. Histological examination of the fibrous residue excluded the presence of a mucosa-lined lumen. X-ray examination of the esophageal-gastric passage, one month after the operation, showed the smooth transit of the contrast medium and an adequate anastomotic lumen. At follow-up, at the age of 9 months, the baby was growing normally and being fed per os with a diet appropriate for her age; no oesophageal dilatation was necessary. Type A oesophageal atresias are long-gap forms: they are treated with direct anastomosis after the blind pouches come together spontaneously in the first four months of life. Stress is laid on the rarity of the case. According to Kluth's classification of 1976, this form was described by Mason in 1855 and Jlott in 1905 on the basis of autopsy findings. A review of the literature did not show any similar clinical cases.