Resumen

FUENTES VALDES, Edelberto  y  CORONA MANCEBO, Sixto B. Fístula traqueoesofágica posintubación. Rev Cubana Cir [online]. 2003, vol.42, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-2945.

Postintubation tracheoesophageal fistulae are an injury of serious prognosis, with high morbidity and mortality rates. The objective of the paper was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and the results of the surgical treatment of patients with postintubation tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). A retrospective study was conducted on 5 patients who had a nasogastric tube and a tracheal cuff; two of them had been referred to the hospital after failed fistula operation. Serum albumin was under 35g/L, there was severe loss of weight and the body mass index showed a chronic energy shortage (2), low weight (1) normal weight (1) whereas this datum was not available in another patient. The fundamental symptoms were expulsion of food through tracheostomy and respiratory sepsis. Surgical technique used was cross-cervical incision and tracheal resection with anastomosis and then esophageal suture. Two patients presented with complications: a female with temporary outlet of food through tracheostomy, probably due to lack of coordination of deglutition movements secondary to bilateral recurrent paralysis and a long time without swallowing any food and also a second case with respiratory and injury infections. No fistula relapse was observed. A patient suffering from tracheomalacia diagnosed in the course of surgery, developed tracheal stenosis which was treated with resection and a T-tube. The surgical therapy with tracheal resection and anastomosis together with esophageal suture was successful in patients with postintubation TEF, with neither postoperative fistula relapse nor dysphagia

Palabras clave : TRACHEOSOPHAGEAL FISTULA [surgery]; TRACHEOPHAGEAL FISTULA [diagnosis]; INDICATORS DE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY.