Congenital Tracheal Stenosis

The term congenital tracheal stenosis (CTS) describes a wide range of tracheal abnormalities. CTS may be the result of an abnormality inherent to the trachea itself or may be the effect of external forces compressing the airway, such as cardiovascular malformations.¹ However, the common characteristic in all cases of CTS is an innate narrowing of the trachea producing airway obstruction.² 

CTS is relatively rare. In the majority of cases, it consists of a funnel-shaped part of the trachea characterized by complete circular cartilaginous tracheal rings.³ CTS may involve only a short segment of the trachea, or it may affect more than 50% of the trachea, including the main bronchi. The second type of stenosis is referred to as long-segment tracheal stenosis (LSTS) and is the most severe and challenging form of CTS.⁴ Except for some cases of mild CTS, all forms of CTS are usually life...