Congenital complete absence of tracheal rings with trifurcate carina: Case report of a rare clinical and endoscopic presentation

We describe the case of a child with isolated absence of cartilaginous tracheal rings and a trifurcate carina. At 6 months of age, the patient presented to our multidisciplinary airway clinic with stridor and recurrent severe respiratory infections requiring hospitalization. Radiographs showed airwa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology 2018-08, Vol.111, p.1-6
Main Authors: Schwartz, Isaac E., Utz, Edward R., Gaudreau, Philip A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abnormalities, Multiple - diagnosis
Airway
Bronchoscopy
Congenital anomalies
Humans
Infant
Laryngomalacia - complications
Laryngomalacia - diagnosis
Laryngoscopy
Male
Pediatric stridor
Respiratory Sounds - etiology
Tracheal obstruction
Tracheomalacia
Tracheomalacia - complications
Tracheomalacia - diagnosis
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Summary:We describe the case of a child with isolated absence of cartilaginous tracheal rings and a trifurcate carina. At 6 months of age, the patient presented to our multidisciplinary airway clinic with stridor and recurrent severe respiratory infections requiring hospitalization. Radiographs showed airway narrowing. Exam demonstrated biphasic stridor. Flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy demonstrated only mild laryngomalacia. Operative bronchoscopy demonstrated severe tracheomalacia with absence of any visible tracheal rings and a trifurcate carina. Subsequent CT imaging corroborated these findings and did not demonstrate any other major abnormality. The patient did not require operative intervention and his subsequent course was uncomplicated.
ISSN:0165-5876
1872-8464
DOI:10.1016/j.ijporl.2018.05.009