Congenital Tracheal Disorders in Children

Congenital tracheal disorders are a heterogeneous group of pathologies characterized by noisy breathing and abnormal compressibility of the main airway. They encompass a wide variety of abnormalities and can differ in prevalence and/or incidence. Congenital tracheal abnormalities can present as impaired/abnormal cartilage development, or as extrinsic compression from other thoracic/gastrointestinal organs; they can also be classified as static or dynamic anomalies [1, 2]. While some of them may not warrant an urgent medical visit, others may acutely effect a child’s life, potentially causing airway obstruction, impairment of ventilation, respiratory distress, or cerebral hypoxia and requiring emergent management.