Chamberlain Mediastinotomy for Diagnosis of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of Trachea

Primary tracheal tumours are extremely rare. Bronchoscopy is the standard diagnostic procedure of obtaining biopsy of a tracheal mass, however it becomes challenging if the obstructing lesion is placed distally along the trachea occluding greater than 90% of the airway. We report the case of a 25-year-old male who suffered from severe tracheal stenosis. The lesion was biopsied through a chamberlain mediastinotomy, under local and mask anaesthesia and was found to be primary adenoid cystic carcinoma.