“…It is characterized by a lack of continuity of the upper gastrointestinal tract that is often accompanied with a persistent connection, or fistula, between the trachea and the esophagus (tracheoesophageal fistula [TEF]). Although mortality and complication rates have decreased over the past decades, EA/TEF remains a severe congenital anomaly that may cause significant short-and long-term morbidity (Deurloo et al, 2002;Orford et al, 2004;Tö nz et al, 2004;Goyal et al, 2006). Many genetic and environmental factors have been suggested to play an etiologic role in EA/TEF, but the developmental mechanisms are far from being elucidated (Felix et al, 2004(Felix et al, , 2007b.…”