Management of congenital tracheomalacia

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled “Management of congenital tracheomalacia: a single institution experience” (Cir Pediatr. 2006 Apr;19(2):55-60). Authors are Anton-Pacheco JL, Cano I, Garcia A еt al, from the Servicio de Cirugia Pediatrica, Hospital Universitario, Madrid, Spain. Congenital tracheomalacia (CTM) is a rare disease causing tracheal wall collapse when breathing. The authors show their experience in the management of this type of airway anomaly, settling the indications for surgical or endoscopic treatment. A retrospective study have been performed, from 1991 to 2003, of patients with a bronchoscopic diagnosis of CTM or bronchomalacia (BM). The following facts have been analyzed: sex, age, indication of the initial bronchoscopy, ethiology, clinical group, anatomic type, associated malformations, treatment modality, complications, results, and time of follow-up. The conclusions are that most patients with CTM can be treated conservatively though spontaneous resolution may he expected after the first year of life. Surgical or endoscopical procedures are indicated in those patients with severe respiratory symptoms. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.