Tracheomalacia in esophageal atresia. Usefulness of preoperative imaging evaluation for tailored surgical correction.

Tracheomalacia (TM) associated with esophageal atresia (OA) generally is located in the thoracic segment of the trachea, and the close anatomical relationships it has with the aortic arch and the other mediastinal structures play a remarkable role in the dynamic obstruction of the airways. Only correct preoperative imaging studies permit a precise anatomic description of TM, reducing the risk of incomplete treatment owing to the persistence of other undervalued problems. This report describes the usefulness of preoperative imaging by dynamic fiberoptic bronchoscopy and spiral multilayer computed tomography with 3-dimensional reconstruction in 7 symptomatic children with segmentary TM associated with esophageal atresia and treated surgically "case by case" based on dynamic fiberoptic bronchoscopy and computed tomography data.