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.
Warren Clinic Pulmonology
Walter Boomer is a Pulmonary Medicine provider in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Boomer has been practicing medicine for over 41 years and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Acquired Tracheomalacia. His top areas of expertise are Lung Metastases, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Lung Nodules, Pneumonia, and Gastrostomy.
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.
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.
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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.