Congenital Esophagobronchial Fistula

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Abstract
Benign esophagobronchial fistulae are rare.1,2 The congenital variety takes several forms. Those associated with esophageal atresia are well known,3 and in any case these fistulae are tracheoesophageal rather than bronchoesophageal. Occasionally a congenital esophageal reduplication becomes inflamed and acquires a fistulous connection to a bronchus.4 Some of these are associated with a sequestrated lower lobe.5-7 Finally there are those cases in which there is no pulmonary sequestration and the esophagus has neither stricture nor reduplication but is connected to the trachea or bronchi by a generally rather short narrow epithelial lined tube. The so-called "H" fistulae to the trachea are commonly at a high level and tend to produce symptoms soon after birth.3 Those joining esophagus and bronchus may well be similar embryologically but have a fairly distinct pattern of behavior. The case to be presented is an example of the latter type. Report of