Laparoscopic-assisted transhiatal gastric transposition for long gap esophageal atresia in an infant

Previous reports describing laparoscopic-assisted transhiatal gastric transposition for long gap esophageal atresia (LGEA) have focused on older infants (median age of 11 months). By performing this operation at an earlier age, patients may avoid esophagostomies or prolonged hospitalizations with nasoesophageal tubes. An additional benefit is the earlier introduction of oral feeds, which is likely to decrease the incidence of oral aversion and feeding difficulties. In this report, we describe our surgical technique for performing a laparoscopic-assisted gastric transposition in a 56-day-old former 36-week premature infant with LGEA.