Pulmonary Malformations

Abstract

Though generally uncommon, congenital pulmonary malformations comprise a cluster of anomalies that frequently require surgical evaluation. Symptomatic lesions typically present in the prenatal period as fetal distress, in the neonate with respiratory embarrassment, or during childhood with recurrent pneumonia. An increasing number of pulmonary malformations are being diagnosed prenatally, leading to earlier involvement of the surgeon, with a wider array of therapeutic options available. Though varied in their pathology, the definitive treatment of these lesions is generally resection, and although the technology by which resection is done continues to change, the anatomy and fundamental surgical principles of resection have not. A brief review of the specifics of the more common malformations follows, with a description of a lobectomy highlighting the general principles of lung resection that follow.