Tracheomalacia with Asthma
Hello. I have had asthma for more than 25 years. I have been on Xolair for a long time as well as the Advair HFA. I recently had a CT scan with contrast and was diagnosed with Tracheomalacia. I have been through all the work up and am scheduled for a bronchoscopy in a week. If they confirm how much my trachea is collapsing, they may place stents as a trial. Has anyone else been through this? If so, how did it go? Thank you.
Hi Madge, and thanks for your post. While I am hopeful others in the community will read of your concern and respond by sharing their own personal experiences here, I do have something to say as well.
In my professional capacity, I have worked with patients who had tracheomalacia for any number of reasons. It is not something that happens often. However, in the cases with whom I worked, the stenting procedure was performed quite successfully.
I will wish you 'good luck!', should the procedure be needed for you. Kindly do check back and let us know how this all turns out for you.
We are all pulling for you!
All the best,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
Thanks for responding to this question! It actually looks like tracheomalacia is one of the topics we haven't discussed or written about before (a rare feat these days). Maybe we should do an article about it in the future. 😀 -Melissa, asthma.net team
Hi Melissa - that sounds like a terrific idea. Although tracheomalacia is not a common occurrence, we do see cases of it in the hospital setting. You may want to suggest to our site lead(s) this as a topic for a future clinical article.
Regards,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)It it’s tracheobronchial malacia. Stents were placed on 8/23 and I felt normal for the first time in a long time. Could do everything like I used to. Unfortunately stents will come out on 9/2. Then wait for surgery. The surgeon is recommending doing the robotic approach, so at least my recovery will be easier.
Hi again, Madge, and thanks so much for providing an update on your own situation. I'm so glad to hear the stent procedure was successful for you on 8/23. You must feel so good about these results.
I understand the stents are coming out soon (9/2), and that you will then be ready for the surgical correction.
Again, I will wish you 'good luck!', and hope that all goes well and uneventfully!
We are all pulling for you!
Warmly,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)I just want to say thank you for being willing to talk about this with the community. There are so many issues that can arise because of asthma, and by sharing those experiences here, it really does raise greater awareness. To be honest, I had never heard of TM prior to this conversation, but now I know. That will help me be a better resource for the future. 😀 I hope the stent procedure went well today. Let us know when surgery is -- you're right about the robotic route, it makes a world of difference. -Melissa, asthma.net team
