Repair of Membranous Tracheal Defect Using Sutureless Free Pericardial Fat Pad Covering During Endoscopic Resection...

A man in his 60s was referred to our hospital for evaluation of a cystic nodule on the membranous trachea detected on computed tomography. Bronchoscopy revealed a submucosal nodule. After dissecting the mucosal surface with forceps, biopsy of the cyst wall showed no evidence of malignancy. Surgery was performed because of the potential risk of airway stenosis associated with cyst enlargement. The mediastinal pleura was incised and the nodule was carefully dissected from the membranous part of the trachea. A mucosal defect approximately 5 mm in diameter was identified, corresponding to the area of mucosa that had been peeled off during the preoperative bronchoscopic biopsy. The defect was covered with a free pericardial fat pad in a sutureless manner. Here we report a case in which a membranous trachea defect was successfully repaired using sutureless covering with free pericardial fat pad, which is considered a simple and effective method.