Medical Image of the Week: Tracheoesophageal fistula

Figure 1. Bronchoscopy showing tracheoesophageal fistula (arrow) with Dobhoff tube (arrowhead).

A 51 year old woman with a history of tracheal and bronchial stents for airway impingment from small cell carcinoma was intubated for respiratory failure. After prolonged intubation, she underwent tracheostomy to transition into hospice. The tracheal stent was removed during the procedure due to its location.  A tracheoesophageal fistula was demonstrated by visualization of her feeding tube on bronchoscopy performed the next day.  The patient underwent palliative ablation of the tracheal tumor and died several days later in hospice.

Candy Wong, MD; Josh Malo, MD; James Knepler, MD

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Arizona Respiratory Center

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Reference as: Wong C, Malo J, Knepler J. Medical image of the week: tracheoesophageal fistula. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2013;6(6):277. PDF