In less complicated cases, your baby may be eating by one week after surgery. Before regular feeding starts, an x-ray can check for holes at the place the surgeon fixed. Some babies with esophageal atresia have heart problems, kidney problems, stomach and bowel problems, or muscle and bone problems. A physical exam by your doctor, maybe with some other x-ray or ultrasound pictures, will usually show if your baby has other problems. If your baby has other problems, the surgery to fix the swallowing tube might have to wait.
Babies born with esophageal atresia sometimes have long-term problems.
GERD is what doctors call heartburn. Heartburn is a burning feeling caused by acid that comes up from the stomach into the swallowing tube. GERD can usually be treated with medicine. Another problem is scar tissue. Sometimes scar tissue grows where the esophagus connects to the stomach.