Congenital esophageal stenosis due to tracheobronchial remnants: report of 2 cases and literature review

Congenital esophageal stenosis due to tracheobronchial remnants is a rare malformation whose diagnosis may be difficult. It is characterised by the abnormal presence of congenital tissue of tracheal origin in the esophageal wall, which is responsible for the narrowing of the esophagus. We report 2 cases whose treatment was surgical after failure of esophageal dilations. The presence of tracheal-bronchial tissue was confirmed by histological examination of the operative piece. Outcome was favourable and the final result was excellent. Recently, endoscopic ultrasonography has been proved useful in the diagnosis of congenital esophageal stenosis due to tracheobronchial remnants by showing the presence of cartilage, which explains the failure of dilation. The high rate of perforation in these cases is due to brutal fragmentation of the cartilaginous rings. Surgical resection of esophageal stenosis with the tracheobronchial tissue appears the only treatment susceptible to completely suppress the stenosis and its consequences.