Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42237466›Full record

ArticleWorld journal of surgery2026

Surgery for Benign Tracheoesophageal Fistula: Analysis of Short- and Long-Term Outcomes.

Marco Mammana, Giulia Pagliarini, Chiara Catelli, Vincenzo Verzeletti, Giovanni Maria Comacchio, Marco Schiavon, Andrea Dell'Amore, Federico Rea

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in World journal of surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Marco MammanaThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0885-2403
Giulia PagliariniThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Chiara CatelliThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Vincenzo VerzelettiThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7239-1248
Giovanni Maria ComacchioThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Marco SchiavonThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Andrea Dell'AmoreThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1384-7441
Federico ReaThoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdult, benign tracheoesophageal fistula is a life-threatening condition. The aim of this study is to report our experience with its surgical treatment, including short- and long-term outcomes.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective, single-center review of patients who underwent surgical repair of tracheoesophageal fistula at a single center from 1997 to 2023. We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes between patients operated on by different surgical techniques. Furthermore, we analyzed long-term outcomes including survival, decannulation rate, and resumption of oral intake.

resultsOverall, 60 patients underwent fistula repair during the study period. The main etiology was post-intubation injury (78.3%). The airway defect was repaired by direct suture, airway resection-anastomosis or flap/patch interposition in 8 (13.3%), 30 (50.0%) and 22 (36.7%) cases, respectively. The esophageal defect was repaired by double-layered suture in 56 (93.3%) cases and esophageal diversion in 4 (6.7%). Morbidity was observed in 32 patients (53.3%), including fistula relapse in 2 cases. In-hospital mortality occurred in two patients (3.3%). The overall survival, the cumulative incidence of decannulation, and of resumption of oral feeding at 5 years were 70.5%, 68.4%, and 86.6%, respectively.

conclusionsSurgical correction of tracheoesophageal fistula is challenging and requires an individualized approach. Healing of the fistula can be achieved in the majority of cases, including patients with extensive defects or under mechanical ventilation. Long-term outcomes are less satisfactory, and seem to be determined mainly by patients' comorbidities.

Indexed as

Tracheoesophageal FistulaAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSurgical FlapsTracheostomy DecannulationTreatment Outcomepost‐intubation injuryresorbable patchestracheoesophageal fistula

Identifiers

PMID42237466
PMCPMC13460652

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.