Congenital absence of the trachea

Abstract

Tracheal agenesis, although very rare, can be recognised from a characteristic clinical pattern. Mostly associated congenital malformations are present. Research into tissue-engineering might lead to possibilities for definitive surgical repair of tracheal agenesis or atresia; however, until curative repair becomes possible, prolonged ventilation via the oesophageal tube does not seem to be worthwhile.

Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy in Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units: A 5-Year Experience

“…In this population (infants and toddlers), there is a higher risk for aspiration of foreign bodies, congenital airway structural abnormalities [12,[17][18][19] as well as weakness of cough that might predispose them to mucus plugging. Moreover, congenital airway structural abnormalities and foreign body aspiration are more prevalent in males [12,17,18] and this correlates with our data. In this work, most procedures (71.7%) were performed for diagnostic reasons although therapeutic management was undertaken in most patients with foreign body aspiration and airway plugging.…”

Congenital high airways obstruction syndrome – first and second trimester diagnosis

“…Therapeutic options, namely ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT), may now be possible for presentations of CHAOS where enough proximal or distal trachea is present to allow for a tracheostomy 5 . For these cases, fetal MRI has been shown to be helpful in localising the level of obstruction 6 …”

Securing the airway in a child with tracheal agenesis – an alternative perspective

“…The incidence of TA is 1 in 50 000 live births, boys being affected approximately twice as often as girls [2][3][4][5]. Since the first description by Payne in 1900 [6], approximately 150 cases of TA have been reported worldwide, as reviewed by Hirakawa et al [7].…”