TRACHEAL AGENESIS

Tracheal agenesis is a rare cause of respiratory distress in the neonatal period. Temporary survival depends on ventilation through the esophagus. Thirty-eight case reports of tracheal agenesis (including one from this institution) have appeared in the literature. In this paper, we present the case reports of our 2 patients and review the literature. Tracheal agenesis is associated with a wide variety of congenital anomalies, the most frequent being ventricular septal defect. A new classification encompassing seven types of tracheal agenesis is described. © 1979, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. All rights reserved.