Flexible bronchoscopic cryoablation as definitive treatment for endobronchial hamartoma: A case report

Endobronchial hamartoma is a rare benign tumor that, when located in the central airway, can lead to airway obstruction, hemoptysis, and recurrent respiratory infections. Although various bronchoscopic treatment modalities have been reported, the application of transbronchial cryoablation has rarely been described. We report the case of a 78-year-old man with squamous cell carcinoma in the left lower lobe, in whom a pedunculated tumor was incidentally identified in the left B6 bronchus during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Postoperatively, the patient's performance status declined and additional surgical resection was deemed unfeasible. Transbronchial cryoablation using a flexible cryoprobe was therefore selected as the treatment strategy. The procedure involved resection by cryo-debulking, followed by three cycles of 30-s freezing and thawing applied to each site across the entire resection margin. This intervention was safely completed under sedation without severe complications. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed the diagnosis of endobronchial hamartoma. Follow-up bronchoscopy at 6 months revealed no evidence of recurrence. This case demonstrates the potential utility of flexible cryoprobe-based cryoablation as a minimally invasive, curative approach for patients who are unsuitable candidates for surgery.