Postoperative elective ventilation in babies with "marked anastomotic tension" after repair of esophageal atresia.

The repair of esophageal atresia, preserving the patient's own esophagus is the surgical procedure of choice. In "long-gap" type or in "tension anastomosis" cases, anastomotic complications were known to be higher than in usual cases. From this report, postoperative elective ventilation for 5 days together with neck flexion position reduced such complications with minimal subsequent complications related to the mechanical ventilation.