Acquired TracheomalaciaSymptoms, Doctors, Treatments, Advances & More
Learn About Acquired Tracheomalacia
Acquired tracheomalacia is a weakness and floppiness of the walls of the windpipe (trachea, or airway). It develops after birth.
Congenital tracheomalacia is a related topic.
Secondary tracheomalacia
Acquired tracheomalacia is very uncommon at any age. It occurs when normal cartilage in the wall of the windpipe begins to break down.
This form of tracheomalacia may result:
- When large blood vessels put pressure on the airway
- As a complication after surgery to repair birth defects in the windpipe and esophagus (the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach)
- After having a breathing tube or trachea tube (tracheostomy) for a long time
Symptoms of tracheomalacia include:
- Breathing problems that get worse with coughing, crying, or upper respiratory infections, such as a cold
- Breathing noises that may change when body position changes, and improve during sleep
- High-pitched breathing
- Rattling, noisy breaths
The condition may improve without treatment. However, people with tracheomalacia must be monitored closely when they have respiratory infections.
Adults with breathing problems may need continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Rarely, surgery is needed. A hollow tube called a stent may be placed to hold the airway open.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Adnan Majid is an Internal Medicine provider in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Majid is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Acquired Tracheomalacia. His top areas of expertise are Tracheobronchomalacia, Pleural Effusion, Acquired Tracheomalacia, Advanced Bronchoscopy, and Endoscopy.
Advocate Medical Group ENT Otolaryngology
Benjamin Gruber is an Otolaryngologist in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Gruber has been practicing medicine for over 44 years and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Acquired Tracheomalacia. His top areas of expertise are Infant Hearing Loss, Salivary Duct Stones, Familial Deafness, Parathyroidectomy, and Gastrostomy.
Proliance Surgeons
Craig Villari, MD, is a board-certified otolaryngologist. He treats a broad spectrum of ear, nose, and throat conditions in both adults and children. He has a special interest in caring for voice, airway, and swallowing concerns and is a post-graduate member of the American Laryngologic Society. He takes great pride in making sure his patients understand their diagnoses and treatment options.Dr. Villari grew up in Buffalo, New York but spent other parts of his childhood in Saint Louis, Missouri and Fort Worth, Texas. He graduated summa cum laude from Emory University where he also completed medical training and otolaryngology residency. He completed an extra year of subspecialty training in laryngology at the University of California, San Francisco and then practiced for four years at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, serves as a peer-reviewer for top journals, and has been an invited national and international speaker for his field.He lives on the Eastside with his wife, their son, daughter, and basset hound, Pickles. Outside of medicine, he enjoys reading, golf, and following professional sports. He's a Kraken fan and optimistic the NBA will make a return to the Emerald City. Dr. Villari is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Acquired Tracheomalacia. His top areas of expertise are Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis, Spasmodic Dysphonia, Vocal Cord Dysfunction, Laryngeal Cancer, and Laryngectomy.
Aspiration pneumonia (a lung infection) can occur from breathing in food or saliva.
Adults who develop tracheomalacia after being on a breathing machine often have serious lung problems.
Contact your health care provider if you or your child breathes in an abnormal way. Tracheomalacia can become an urgent or emergency condition.
Published Date: April 05, 2025
Published By: Charles I. Schwartz, MD, FAAP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, General Pediatrician at PennCare for Kids, Phoenixville, PA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Finder JD. Bronchomalacia and tracheomalacia. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 437.
Green GE, Ohye RG. Diagnosis and management of tracheal anomalies and tracheal stenosis. In: Flint PW, Francis HW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 210.
Little BP. Tracheal diseases. In: Walker CM, Chung JH, eds. Muller's Imaging of the Chest. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 56.