Tracheal Diverticulum: A Unique Case with Intraoperative Morphologic Assessment

• Main Authors: Rohini Chennuri, Pavithra Dissanayake, Urjeet A. Patel, Gabor Tarjan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
• Series: Case Reports in Pathology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/167394

There are rare case reports of tracheal diverticula or paratracheal air cysts. These cases, however, were reported mostly as incidental sonographic or radiologic findings without histologic confirmation. Furthermore, the handful of studies that describe this entity histopathologically report only cases in patients with prior respiratory symptoms. Here, we report a rare case of an asymptomatic 60-year-old female with no significant past medical history who presented with primary hyperparathyroidism. She was found to have an incidental right paraesophageal air-filled diverticulum with multiple thin septations on her imaging studies. She was taken to surgery and the histologic examination of the specimen revealed multiloculated cystic cavity lined by respiratory-type columnar epithelium with lymphocytic infiltrate and minor salivary glands within the surrounding stroma, rendering the diagnosis of tracheal diverticula.