Primary malignant melanoma of the trachea

Tracheal melanomas represent the rarest type of extracutaneous melanomas. The clinical manifestation is similar to other tracheal tumors and ranges from symptoms of airway obstruction such as dyspnea and stridor to other nonspecific symptoms such as hoarseness, cough and hemoptysis. Bronchoscopy is required to draw the origin of the lesion biopsy is needed to establish histologic diagnosis. Treatment consists of either palliative surgery aiming at restoring the airway or tracheal resection and end to end anastmosis. We would like to present here below a rare case of tracheal melanoma and discuss the various diagnostic and therapeutic means.