Laryngotracheoesophageal cleft. An easily missed malformation.
Laryngotracheoesophageal cleft is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by a midline defect of variable length between the posterior larynx and trachea and the anterior wall of the esophagus. This report concerns the clinical course and follow-up of three patients with this anomaly and a review of the literature. Only one of these patients had a successful repair on the first attempt. The difficulty in making the diagnosis is stressed. This anomaly is associated with a high morbidity and mortality.
D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004947:Esophagus / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007830:Larynx / Q000002:abnormalities*; D008297:Male; D011015:Pneumonia, Aspiration / Q000209:etiology; D014132:Trachea / Q000002:abnormalities*