Inflammatory pseudotumor of the trachea

Primary tracheal tumors are extremely rare, and the majority of them are ma lignant. Inflammatory pseudotumor is a benign, tumorlike lesion, most likel y of a reactive nature. Its basic morphologic characteristic is spindle cel l (myoblasts and fibroblasts) proliferation with a variable number and type of inflammatory cells. A case of intratracheal inflammatory pseudotumor in a 14-year-old boy is presented together with a review of all similar lesio ns in the available literature. The discussion includes the presentation of tracheal tumors, their basic morphologic and immunohistochemical character istics, and treatment modalities that are available. The surgeon must exerc ise caution not to perform radical surgery based on the initial pathologic diagnosis from the intraoperative frozen section, because the prognosis of these benign lesions generally is excellent. This is the second reported ca se of intratracheal inflammatory pseudotumor successfully endoscopically va porized using a CO2 laser, which is an excellent alternative in cases in wh ich surgical treatment is feasible. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Com pany.