Tracheal Stenosis

Also known as: narrowing of the trachea.

What is tracheal stenosis?

The trachea is another name for the windpipe that delivers air to and from the lungs. When the trachea becomes narrow and negatively impacts breathing, this is known as tracheal stenosis.

What causes tracheal stenosis?

In some cases, tracheal stenosis occurs as a birth defect due to structural problems with the trachea. Other times, an injury due to the use of a breathing tube, a tissue injury or other sources can cause tracheal stenosis.

What are the symptoms of tracheal stenosis?

Difficulty breathing, noisy breathing, pauses in breathing (apnea), wheezing, chest congestion and the skin turning a blue color are all potential symptoms of tracheal stenosis.

What are tracheal stenosis care options?

In mild cases, patients with tracheal stenosis can be monitored to ensure that symptoms don’t get worse. More severe cases can be treated with balloon dilation to enlarge the trachea or airway reconstruction surgery to repair it.

Reviewed by: Brian Ho, MD

This page was last updated on: September 09, 2020 11:21 AM