Effects of primary posterior tracheopexy in thoracoscopic repair of esophageal atresia

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of primary posterior tracheopexy (PPT) in reducing ventilator dependence after repair of esophageal atresia (EA), and the risk of respiratory tract infections (RTI) requiring readmissions within one year. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study recruited patients with EA admitted to our hospital between June 2020 and December 2021. RESULTS: In the PPT group (n = 17), the time to extubation after surgery was 86.7 h for 12 patients, with one patient (8.3%) requiring repeated postoperation intubation; six-in-sixteen patients (37.5%) experience at least one RTI requiring hospitalization in one year. In the non-PPT group (n = 17), the time to extubation was 127.0 h for 14 patients, with six-in-fourteen patients (42.9%) requiring repeated intubation; twelve-in-seventeen patients (70.6%) experienced at least one RTI requiring hospitalization in one year. CONCLUSIONS: Although the differences did not reach statistical significance due to limited number of participants, patients underwent PPT during EA repair had lower chance of repeated intubation and decreased risk of RTI requiring admissions within one year.