Oesophageal atresia with very low birth weight: clinical characteristics and long-term outcome

In paediatric surgery the outcome of infants with oesophageal atresia (OA) has been one of the key indicators for the quality of neonatal surgical care. Very soon after the first successful repairs of OA in 1940s paediatric surgeons realized that the outcome and especially mortality in infants with OA depended on two important factors, the presence of significant congenital heart disease and birth weight (BW). These two factors have been the basis of outcome classifications including those of Waterston [1], Spitz [2] and Okamoto [3] and all three classifications indicate the disadvantage of low BW on the outcome.
Source: Journal of Pediatric Surgery - Category: Surgery Authors: Source Type: research