Primary tracheal hamartoma is a rare benign tumor, and only 11 cases have been reported including the present case. A 58-year-old Japanese woman who had been treated for bronchial asthma was admitted with a complaint of severe dyspnea. On admission, examination of the chest showed only inspiratory rhonchi without wheezing in her lung fields, a finding that was much more suggestive of central airway obstruction than asthma. Chest computed tomography scanning and bronchoscopy showed a tumor in the lower trachea. Because bronchoscopic examination precipitated more severe respiratory distress, the tumor was resected with an electrosurgical snare using a rigid bronchoscope. Histologic examination showed that the lesion was a tracheal hamartoma.
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