Carcinoma esophagus with esophagorespiratory fistula has a poor prognosis. Water and food intake suffers and pulmonary contamination leads to lung infection.
Treatment is essentially palliative.
Thirty-five patients with esophagorespiratory fistula secondary to esophageal carcinoma were treated with palliative esophageal intubation, gastrostomy and transgastric feeding jejunostomy. One patient died in the postoperative period. Twenty-nine patients were able to swallow saliva without leakage into the lungs. Only four patients were able to take full diet orally for any significant length of time. Malecot s catheter provided outlet for air in the stomach and prevented rise in intragastric pressure and gastroesophageal reflux.