Surgical management of thoracic anomalies in infants. Respiratory-tract malformations, congenital chylothorax and mediastinal masses.

The clinical presentation and surgical treatment of thoracic anomalies--developmental malformations of the respiratory tract, congenital chylothorax or mediastinal masses--in 15 infants are reported. The age range at operation was 2 weeks to 8 months. The diagnoses were lobar emphysema (3 cases), bronchogenic cyst (3), cystic adenomatoid malformation (1), enteric duplication (2), hyperplastic thymus (2), neuroblastoma (1), chylothorax (1), cystic lymphangiectasia (1) and tracheal stenosis (1). The most common symptom was respiratory embarrassment, with acute development in half of the cases. The diagnosis could be established or suspected from chest radiography in 14 of the 15 infants. All were submitted to thoracotomy. None died postoperatively, but three had major complications. At postoperative follow-up 13 of 14 patients were free from respiratory symptoms.