title: Tracheomalacia.
abstract: Tracheomalacia is excessive collapsibility of the trachea, typically during expiration. Congenital forms are associated with severe symptoms. Milder forms often present after the neonatal period. Adult malacia is mostly associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Functional bronchoscopy is still not standardized. Dynamic airway CT is a promising tool for noninvasive diagnosis. Bronchoscopy and stent insertion lead to significant improvement, but with a high complication rate. Surgical lateropexia, tracheal resection, and surgical external stabilization are options. Tracheoplasty seems to be the best choice for selected cases of adult malacia. The most commonly performed surgery in children is aortopexy.
authors.affiliation: LungenClinic Grosshansdorf, Wöhrendamm 80, Großhansdorf 22927, Germany. Electronic address: c.kugler@lungenclinic.de.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kugler
authors.affiliation: Lung Clinic Hemer, Theo-Funccius-Str. 1, Hemer 58675, Germany.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stanzel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014132:Trachea / Q000601:surgery*; D055090:Tracheomalacia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology
keywords: Airway collapse; Aortopexy; Dynamic airway CT; Tracheomalacia; Tracheoplasty