After surgery, your child will be cared for in a hospital's NICU. Your child will be placed in a special bed called an isolette (incubator), which provides warmth and helps prevent infection.

Additional treatments after surgery usually include:

• Antibiotics as needed, to prevent infection
• Breathing machine (ventilator)
• Chest tube (a tube through the skin into the chest wall) to drain fluids and keep the lungs open
• Intravenous (IV) fluids, including nutrition
• Oxygen
• Pain medicines as needed

If both the tracheoesophageal fistula and esophageal atresia are repaired:

• A tube will be placed through the nose into the stomach (nasogastric tube) during the surgery.
• Feedings are usually started through this tube a few days after surgery.
• Feedings by mouth are started very slowly. The baby may need feeding therapy and a lot of encouragement.

If only the tracheoesophageal fistula was repaired and not the esophageal atresia, a gastrostomy tube will be used for feedings until the atresia can be repaired.

• While your baby is in the hospital the nurses will show you how to use and replace the gastrostomy tube.
• You will also be sent home with an extra gastrostomy tube. The nurses will inform a home health supply company of your equipment needs.

How long your infant stays in the hospital will depend on what type of surgery your child needed. You will be able to bring your baby home once he or she is taking feedings by mouth or gastrostomy tube, and is gaining weight.

Surgery can usually repair tracheoesophageal fistula and esophageal atresia. Most children who have had this repair grow up and have normal lives.

Once healing from the surgery is complete, your child may have these problems:

• The part of the esophagus that was repaired may become narrower. Your child may need to have more surgery to treat this.
• Your child may have heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). This occurs when acid from the stomach goes up into the esophagus.

During infancy, some children will have problems with breathing, growth, and feeding, and will need to continue seeing both their primary care provider and specialists.