Acute tracheobronchial laceration and chronic complications of neonatal intubation

Laceration of the large airways and tracheobronchomalacia are severe complications of endotracheal intubation of neonates. While these disorders differ considerably with regard to their timing of onset and presenting signs, they have in common causal factors, mechanism of injury and method of diagnosis. The following chapter reviews the epidemiology of these disorders of the large airways, as well as acquired subglottic stenosis, vocal cord paralysis and granuloma; the manner in which they may be diagnosed and managed; and their respective near- and long-term outcomes.