Long custom-made plastic tracheostomy tube in severe tracheomalacia.

Tracheomalacia occasionally occurs after repair of esophageal atresia and distal tracheoesophageal fistula. It is usually mild, and tracheostomy is rarely necessary. In severe cases of tracheomalacia after repair of esophageal atresia and distal tracheoesophageal fistula, the tracheomalacia may extend below the tip of a regular plastic tracheostomy tube. A patient with just such a problem is presented. A custom-made long plastic tracheostomy tube was designed. A method of gluing the upper portion of a standard plastic tracheostomy tube to an uncuffed thin-walled polyvinyl chloride endotracheal tube was discovered and the technique is described in detail. The literature is reviewed concerning custom-made long plastic tracheostomy tubes and tracheomalacia in relation to esophageal atresia and distal tracheoesophageal fistula.