Summary
Three adult patients with congenital esophagobronchial fistula, treated between 1967
and 1984 at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Helsinki University
Central Hospital, are presented.
Correct preoperative diagnosis is very difficult and was not made for several years
in our cases. Unexplained recurrence of pulmonary infection was the common feature
in the patients' histories, and repeated esophagograms were helpful in diagnosing
this rare congenital abnormality, which was fatal in one of our cases. The treatment
should always be surgical.
Key words
Esophagobronchial fistula
