Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Tracheoesophageal fistula

    A congenital defect linking the trachea and the esophagus, resulting from failure of the lungs to separate from the gastrointestinal tract during embryological development. Surgery is needed to prevent recurring episodes of aspiration pneumonia in the newborn.  

  • Thyroglossal fistula

    A midline fistula just above the thyroid that connects the openings in the skin to a persistent embryonic thyroglossal duct.  

  • Rectovaginal fistula

    An opening between the rectum and the vagina.  

  • Perineovaginal fistula

    An opening from the vagina through the perineum.  

  • Perilymphatic fistula

    A canal through which inner ear fluid may leak into the middle ear that may produce sudden hearing loss, tinnitus, or vertigo. The lesion, which can arise congenitally, after trauma, or by erosion, is one of the few examples of sensorineural hearing loss that can be repaired with surgery to the cochlear aqueduct.  

  • Parotid fistula

    A fistula from the parotid gland to the skin surface.  

  • Oroantral fistula

    A communicating tract between the oral cavity and the maxillary sinus, occasionally resulting from the extraction of the first or second molar. It may become infected. Treatment varies with the size of the defect. Small lesions heal spontaneously; larger ones may be repaired with flap surgery or with prostheses.  

  • Obstetric fistula

    A complication of excessively prolonged labor and childbirth in which the blood supply to the vagina is interrupted, leading to tissue death and the development of a tract between the vagina and the large bowel or the urinary bladder.  

  • Metroperitoneal fistula

    An abnormal connection between the uterine and peritoneal cavities.  

  • Incomplete fistula

    A fistula with only one opening, which leads to the skin (i.e., it does not communicate with an internal cavity or organ).