Thoracoscopic Repair of Type C Esophageal Atresia with Tracheoesophageal Fistula with Classic Anatomy

Classic Type C or Vogt IIIb esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula is commonly encountered variant. Pediatric surgeons who commonly manage esophageal atresia are always expected to be experienced with the open repair of this variant. With increasing practice of thoracoscopic approach, it is always advisable to start with Type C variant at the beginning of the learning curve. The anatomy is familiar constant and predictable to the operating surgeon. The classic operation involves ligation of fistula and end-to-end esophageal anastomosis. Achieving this thoracoscopically can be technically challenging. Previous sections of this book have described various steps before the start of the actual surgical procedure, i.e., case selection, patient positioning anesthesia and port placement, etc. This chapter will elaborate, in detail, various steps of thoracoscopic repair for Type C esophageal atresia and discuss the nuances of the procedure in a step wise manner. The text is supported with several intraoperative pictures and video supplementary material.