THE BRIDGING BRONCHUS - SUCCESSFUL DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR

Anomalies of bronchial branching are infrequent and may be difficult t o diagnose. The bridging bronchus is a rarely reported anomaly that ma y not be as sporadic as once thought. We describe an infant with respi ratory distress whose right middle and lower lobes were supplied by a bridging bronchus arising from the left main bronchus. The airway anat omy was defined using flexible and rigid bronchoscopy and helical comp uted tomographic scanning, enabling successful surgical repair. We rev iew current literature on the bridging bronchus as well as the possibl e embryological basis for this defect.