Tracheal and airway neoplasms

A Rare Case of Tracheal Lipoma in Puerto Rico: Presentation and Management of a Patient With Longstanding Respiratory Complaints

Tracheal lipomas, though exceedingly rare among benign tracheal masses, present unique diagnostic and management challenges due to their unusual clinical course. This case report documents the presentation and surgical management of a 56-year-old male with a tracheal lipoma, a first documented case in Puerto Rico. The patient presented with progressive dyspnea and stridor, initially misdiagnosed and treated as asthma exacerbations. Imaging confirmed a pedunculated tracheal mass, prompting emergency surgical intervention to secure the airway and excise the mass successfully. Histopathological analysis confirmed the mass as a benign tracheal lipoma. This case emphasizes the importance of considering rare tracheal tumors in the differential diagnosis of unexplained respiratory distress and advocates for tailored management strategies informed by comprehensive multidisciplinary approaches.

Tracheal Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Successfully Treated With the Combined Core Out Technique, Cryoextraction, and Argon Plasma Coagulation: A Case Report

We report the case of a 67-year-old male who presented with mild dyspnea two years ago, with increasing intensity, cough, and stridor on exertion. He underwent outpatient evaluation and received treatment for recurrent episodes of bronchitis and acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His current medication included tiotropium 18 µg per day and salmeterol/fluticasone 50/500 µg twice daily. The patient received a short course of prednisolone at 40 mg per day for five days before admission. The physical examination showed a central stridor during both inspiration and expiration. Chest radiograph showed a normal lung parenchyma and no hilar enlargement. Spirometry revealed fixed airway obstruction. CT scan of the thorax revealed a 2.4 × 2.7 cm lobulated mass abutting the right side of the lower trachea with nearly complete obstruction. Due to the large tumor causing significant central airway obstruction, the medical team opted to remove the central airway mass through rigid bronchoscopy. Argon plasma coagulation was used to facilitate mass shrinkage. Mechanical mass removal was performed using a rigid bronchoscope. At the end of the treatment, re-evaluation by bronchoscopy exhibited no remaining mass. Histologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of a tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma. No recurrence of the tumor was noted during 12 months of follow-up.

Tracheal Glomus Tumor Complicated with Asthma Exacerbation in a Pregnant Woman

A 34-year-old pregnant woman in the 34th week of gestation with uncontrolled asthma was admitted because of asthma exacerbation. Although she received bronchodilators and systemic corticosteroids, respiratory failure rapidly progressed. Chest computed tomography revealed a mass occluding approximately 80% of the tracheal lumen. After urgent Caesarean section, endobronchial resection was performed. The pathological findings of the resected tumor were compatible with tracheal glomus tumor. Tracheal tumors are often misdiagnosed as asthma, but its complication with asthma is rare. Even if the diagnosis of asthma is definitive, clinicians should consider coexisting diseases, including tracheal tumors, when asthma control is poor.

Awake nasotracheal intubation under bronchoscopic guidance and anesthetic management in a patient undergoing excision of an endotracheal mass: A case report

RATIONALE

The main challenge facing anesthesiologists during endotracheal mass resection is securing effective airway management during surgery. It is important to select an airway intubation and airway maintenance method according to the patient's condition and the characteristics of the mass.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 74-year-old woman with aggravated dyspnea for 1 year was scheduled to undergo endotracheal mass excision under general anesthesia.

DIAGNOSIS

The mass was 4 × 3 × 3 cm ovoid-shaped, and located 4 cm above the carina, occupying 41% of the tracheal lumen in a preoperative chest computed tomography and bronchoscopy.

INTERVENTIONS

After preparing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in case of the inability to ventilate and intubate, we attempted awake bronchoscopy-guided nasotracheal intubation using a reinforced endotracheal tube with an inner diameter of 5.5 mm and outer diameter of 7.8 mm after a translaryngeal block. The tube was passed around the mass without resistance and placed right above the carina. With the tube pulled back above the mass, another tube was introduced from the opened trachea below the mass to the right main bronchus. Following the resection of the tracheal portion containing the mass, the posterior wall of the remaining trachea was reconstructed. The tube placed in the right main bronchus was removed and the tube in the upper trachea was introduced right above the carina. The patient's head was kept flexed once the anastomosis of the trachea was completed, and the surgery ended uneventfully.

OUTCOMES

The mass was confirmed as schwannoma by histopathological finding. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the 6th postoperative day without complication.

LESSONS

Awake bronchoscopy-guided intubation is a safe airway management method in patients with an endotracheal mass. Close cooperation between anesthesiologist and surgeon, and preparation for airway management before surgery is essential. It is necessary to establish alternative plans that can be implemented in the case that intubation and ventilation are not possible.

A case of adenoid cystic carcinoma of trachea: treatment complications and radiotherapy role

Purpose

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of trachea is a relatively rare malignant neoplasm, for which there is a lack of prospective clinical trials investigating treatment effectiveness. Most of the authors prefer surgical resection followed by post-operative radiation therapy in case of incomplete excision. There are no available prospective data on post-relapse treatment.

Case presentation

The current paper presents a case of tracheal ACC in a young woman, treated solely with surgical resection without radiotherapy due to postoperative neurological complications requiring additional diagnostics, management, and treatment. As a complication itself, spinal cord dysfunction after tracheal surgery is extremely rare, in which radical radiotherapy and brachytherapy were successfully administered after disease recurrence.

Conclusions

Lack of post-operative radiotherapy resulting from neurological complications could be a reason for ACC recurrence in our patient. Administration of radiotherapy after incomplete resection of recurrent disease may lead to long-term locoregional control.

Solitary tracheal B-cell lymphoma in an adult alpaca (Vicugna pacos)

BACKGROUND

This report describes a case of solitary tracheal lymphoma in a 14-year-old alpaca mare.

CASE PRESENTATION

The alpaca was referred for dyspnea and inspiratory noise. The clinical examination included complete blood cell count, blood chemistry, endoscopy, ultrasound, radiographs, and computed tomography (CT). A solitary tracheal intraluminal and juxtatracheal lymphoma was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA). The owner requested euthanasia due to the uncertain prognosis. At postmortem examination, the presence of solitary lymphoma without involvement of other organs was confirmed. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed a B-cell origin.

CONCLUSIONS

Although multicentric lymphoma is the most commonly described neoplasia affecting South American camelids (SAC), solitary forms of the disease may occur.

Clinical efficacy of treatment for primary tracheal tumors by flexible bronchoscopy: Airway stenosis recanalization and quality of life

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of interventional treatment of primary tracheal tumors through flexible bronchoscopy. The clinical data of 38 patients with primary tracheal tumours who underwent flexible bronchoscopy intervention therapy between January 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The average time interval from onset of symptoms to the appearance of actual clinical manifestations in the 38 patients ranged from 0 to 60 months, with an average of 8.1±11.6 months and a median of 4.2 months. The rate of misdiagnosis at the first visit was 36.8% (14/38). After interventional treatment, the overall efficiency (complete + partial response) of airway stenosis recanalization in the 38 patients was 89.5%. In 3 patients with benign tumors, the anhelation score was reduced following treatment (1.00±0.77 vs. 3.13±1.21 at the pre-treatment stage; P<0.001). The overall survival rates of the 35 patients at 1, 3 and 5 years were 69.3, 48.7 and 20.3%, respectively. Therefore, flexible bronchoscopic intervention may effectively smoothen the airways of patients and relieve the symptoms of anhelation. Combining radiotherapy and chemotherapy may improve patient prognosis and safety.

How thoracic surgeon manage tracheal tumors in African country? (Case series)

Introduction

Tracheal tumors are a rare pathological entity whose diagnosis is usually delayed by clinical latency. Surgery, which consists of a tracheal resection-anastomosis with or without reconstructive reconstruction, remains the treatment that ensures the best long-term survival.

Methods

This is a retrospective study about 8 patients admitted in the department of thoracic surgery of Hassan II's university hospital of Fes for tracheal tumors management during 7 years time (December 2010 to December 2017).

Results

There were 6 men and 2 women with an average age of 44.4 years ranged from 17 to 65 years, 4 were smokers. Dyspnea was the main trigger sign. Seven (7) have undergone bronchial fibroscopy diagnostic with a finding of budding process in 5 patients, the middle of the trachea is often concerned in 3 patients, obstructing the lumen of the trachea in almost all patients. The treatment in all patients was surgical with an intubation via the operative field, 4 trachea resection-anastomosis, 4 plasty (Lateral resection with V plasty, Kergin's plasty, Mattey's tracheobronchial anastomosis and widened V-resection to the carina). The most common histological type in our series was Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma in 2 of our patients. For the other patients we have found squamous cell carcinoma (1 case), adenocarcinoma (1 case), atypical carcinoid tumor (1 case), low grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma (1 case), an adenoma pleomorph (1 case) and endotracheal goiter (1 case). The operative follow-up was simple in 7 of our patients, all of whom underwent post-operative fibroscopy within an average of 9 days. Two cases of post-operative recurrent palsy had been observed, all of which had progressed well under treatment. We have noted 2 deaths, including one at day 4 post-operative, and the other died from complications of post-radiation tracheal stenosis. Back to 32 months' average follow-up, we have enregistered a case of a distant relapse by cervical lymph node metastasis in one patient, 5 years after surgery.

Conclusion

Primary tumors of the trachea remain of reserved prognosis with 5-year survival of 57% of all histological types combined. Computed tomodensitometry and tracheobronchial fibroscopy remain the means of reference exploration in the diagnosis and assessment of surgical resectability.

The role of endoscopic ultrasound in the staging of tracheal neoplasm: a brief review

Our case report shows the complexity of dealing with tracheal tumors, highlighting the importance of the method used for staging. In this report, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) was crucial to identify the involvement of the esophageal muscular propria in a tracheal tumor and change the surgical planning of the case. Staging this kind of tumor represents a challenge for physicians. There is no evidence in the literature on which methods represent the gold standard for T staging.

Intraluminal tracheal lipoma as a rare cause of dyspnoea in a dog

Background

Tracheal tumors are rarely diagnosed in veterinary medicine and the majority of tracheal neoplasia reported in adult dogs are malignant. Intratracheal lipoma has not been previously reported in the veterinary literature.

Case presentation

A 7-year-old Briard dog was evaluated for inspiratory dyspnoea and an inspiratory wheeze. Cervical radiographs and tracheoscopic examination revealed an intratracheal mass that was surgically removed. The dog has been asymptomatic after the surgery.

Conclusions

Based on histopathology, the mass was diagnosed as lipoma. To the authors‘ knowledge, this is the first published report of an intratracheal lipoma in the veterinary literature.

A rare case of endobronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lung presenting as non-resolving pneumonia

Background

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland tumor, and MECs of the lung are rare, accounting for 0.1–0.2% of malignant lung tumors. Pulmonary MECs are commonly found in the segmental or lobar bronchi, rarely presenting as endobronchial lesions.

Case presentation

Here we describe the case of a 21-year-old female with no comorbid conditions who presented at the emergency room with a cough, yellow phlegm, pleuritic chest pain, and a subjective fever. These symptoms had been present for approximately one week prior to the patient's arrival at the hospital. A chest X-ray revealed right lower lobe alveolar infiltrate and computed tomography of the chest showed dense consolidation of the right lower lobe with ovoid intraluminal density in the right main stem bronchus. Upon fiber optic bronchoscopy, an endobronchial lesion was found in the right main stem sparing the right upper lobe uptake. Endobronchial biopsy results was consistent with MEC of the lung. The patient underwent a bilobectomy with complete resection of the tumor.

Conclusion

Endobronchial MEC is a rare type of salivary gland tumor. Patients with low-grade MECs have a good prognosis, whereas those with high-grade MECs, which are aggressive and associated with metastatic disease, have a poor prognosis. However, early identification and surgical resection can result in a good prognosis.

Otolaryngology in Critical Care

Diseases affecting the ear, nose, and throat are prevalent in intensive care settings and often require combined medical and surgical management. Upper airway occlusion can occur as a result of malignant tumor growth, allergic reactions, and bleeding events and may require close monitoring and interventions by intensivists, sometimes necessitating surgical management. With the increased prevalence of immunocompromised patients, aggressive infections of the head and neck likewise require prompt recognition and treatment. In addition, procedure-specific complications of major otolaryngologic procedures can be highly morbid, necessitating vigilant postoperative monitoring. For optimal outcomes, intensivists need a broad understanding of the pathophysiology and management of life-threatening otolaryngologic disease.

Imaging of the trachea

Numerous benign and malignant tracheal diseases may affect the trachea primarily and secondarily. While the posterior anterior (PA) and lateral chest radiograph is the conventional study for initial evaluation of the trachea and central airways, findings may not always be apparent on conventional radiographs, and further evaluation with cross sectional imaging is usually necessary. Computed tomography (CT) is the imaging modality of choice for imaging the trachea and bronchi. Familiarity with the imaging appearances of the normal and diseased trachea will enhance diagnostic evaluation.

Successful Treatment of Life-threatening Tracheal Stenosis Caused by Malignancy with a Self-expanding Hybrid Stent

Tracheal stenosis caused by malignancy is a life-threatening complication. We performed stent therapy in two patients using the AERO™ stent, launched in late 2016 in Japan. One patient presented with stenosis of the trachea due to adenoid cystic carcinoma and the other with stenosis of the trachea due to esophageal cancer. Both patients showed improved symptoms, and no complications were identified. This is the first report of a favorable outcome with the use of this hybrid stent in Japan, and the findings suggest that insertion of the AERO hybrid stent is an effective way to improve patients' quality of life.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Mismatch: A Case of Tracheal Hamartoma

OBJECTIVE

To demonstrate the diagnostic challenge of tracheal hamartoma in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION

A 65-year-old man with COPD was admitted with sudden onset of asphyxia attacks related to the position of his body. Computerized tomography (CT) of the neck showed a soft tissue mass with calcification, which occluded more than two-thirds of the proximal part of the trachea. The tumor was completely removed, and histopathology confirmed hamartoma.

CONCLUSION

This case report showed the detection of a primary tracheal tumor on CT. This finding enabled the correct diagnosis and led to appropriate treatment in the form of surgery.

Tracheobronchial tumors

Tumors of trachea and bronchi are uncommon and can occur in the form of benign or low- and high-grade malignant tumors. Although tracheobronchial tumors (TBTs) represent only 0.6% of all pulmonary tumors, they are clinically significant. Delays in diagnosis of these tumors commonly occur because the signs and symptoms caused by these tumors are nonspecific and chest radiographs are often considered unremarkable. Therefore, novel radiological techniques and better access to flexible bronchoscopy enable detection of larger number of TBT. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of tracheal and bronchial tumors and discuss significant aspects of the different TBT with focus on clinical manifestations and diagnostic procedures.

Primary mucoepidermoid carcinoma at the carina of trachea presenting with wheezing in an asthmatic child mimicking an attack of asthma: A case report

BACKGROUND

Asthma is a very common disease, but primary tracheal tumors are extremely rare in children. Wheezing is not pathognomonic, but is the typical presentation of asthma and could also be found in patients with tracheal tumors.

CLINICAL FINDINGS

This report describes a 12-year-old boy with a previous history of frequent asthma attacks and experienced responses to antiasthma treatment. He was admitted to the hospital due to persistent wheezing and progressive dyspnea. Hyperinflation in the bilateral lungs was detected on chest x-ray, but without other significant findings. Chest computed tomography revealed a mass at the carina. Tracheal mucoepidermoid carcinoma was diagnosed by histopathological assessment.

CONCLUSION

Despite the rarity of tracheal tumors, chest computed tomography scans should be performed in the first place for children presenting persistent wheezing and having poor response to antiasthma treatment to rule out the other alternative diagnosis. Coexistence of other diseases such as tracheal tumor in asthmatic patients should be considered.

Tracheobronchitis in a Patient With Crohn's Disease

We report a 63-year-old woman who presented with 1 month of non-productive cough and non-bloody diarrhea. She was on maintenance therapy for a 15-year history of Crohn's disease. Treatment with systemic corticosteroids resulted in rapid improvement of both her diarrhea and respiratory symptoms. Our patient is unique in that she presented with tracheobronchitis during an acute flare of her Crohn's without obvious lung pathology on chest imaging. Tracheobronchitis is a rare manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease that should be considered in Crohn's disease patients presenting with persistent non-infectious cough.

Tracheal resection and reconstruction for malignant disease

Malignant tracheal neoplasms are rare diseases, mostly represented by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). Symptoms presentation is often misleading and diagnosis may be delayed for months or years, so clinical suspicion plays a fundamental role. Corner stones in the diagnostic pathway are represented by rigid endoscopy and computed tomography (CT) scan, necessary to correctly stage the patients and identify the optimal surgical candidate. When appropriate, surgical resection and reconstruction is still the best opportunity to achieve a long-term survival with a good quality of life, but this kind of surgery is always a very challenging procedure and a wide experience with an in-depth knowledge of every technical detail, from selection of patient, to choice of surgical approach to reconstruction techniques, are needed and recommended.

Malignant tracheal tumors: a review of current diagnostic and management strategies

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This article reviews the current literature for the purpose of developing a practical approach for the diagnosis and management of primary tracheal tumors.

RECENT FINDINGS

Because of nonspecific symptoms, tracheal tumors remain a diagnostic challenge. Currently available management strategies are not being optimally utilized due to lack of physician awareness and knowledge. The use of newer diagnostic modalities has increased diagnostic accuracy resulting in earlier detection in recent years. This review describes currently available diagnostic modalities along with relatively newer ones such as virtual bronchoscopy, anatomic Optical Coherence Tomography, spectroscopic techniques, and endobronchial ultrasonography. We will review and discuss management strategies including surgical options, adjuvant therapies, and interventional pulmonary techniques including their role in palliation.

SUMMARY

Early detection along with improved surgical and interventional pulmonology techniques has led to a decline in the death rates from tracheal cancer in recent years. However, further studies are required to define the role of chemotherapeutic agents, combination therapies, and novel techniques such as tracheal transplantation, in the management of primary tracheal tumors. More robust evidence-based studies are needed to provide evidence for clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of primary tracheal tumors.

Flexible bronchoscopic excision of a tracheal mass under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Tracheal tumor is a rare but life-threatening condition that can cause obstruction of the airway. Management of tracheal tumors is very challenging and includes surgical resection, radiotherapy, and therapeutic bronchoscopy. Herein, we present a very rare case of an 88-year-old female patient with a tracheal mass due to direct invasion of a mediastinal teratoma. We devised a new method for resection of the tracheal mass because management of her airway and the tracheal mass by conventional methods was impossible. We successfully resected the tracheal mass with flexible bronchoscopic electrocautery under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) without any complications. When management of a patient's airway and tracheal mass are impossible by conventional methods, this technique may be very useful.