Tracheoesophageal Atresia

. Down’s syndrome is a chromosomal disorder that involves both a certain amount of physical deformity and some degree of mental retardation. 49 Esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula means that the esophageal passage from the mouth to the stomach ends in a pouch, with an abnormal connection between the trachea and the esophagus. As a result, food and drink pass to the lungs instead of the stomach, eventually resulting in suffocation unless surgery is performed to correct the malformation.50 Surgery to correct esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula is routinely performed with success, but the parents of Baby Doe refused to consent to the surgery.
Shortly after Baby Doe was born, a hearing was held at Bloomington Hospital