[Cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung (author's transl)]

Four cases of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation are presented. The age of the patients ranged from 1 day to 7 years. All cases were treated surgically and 3 of them survived. The only death in the group corresponded to the neonatal case. The clinical, radiological and patological features of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation are also reviewed. Occasionally the clinical manifestations will be hardly noticeable or non existent and the malformation may be diagnosed beyond the neonatal period in the course of a radiological examination performed as routine or because of repeated respiratory infections. Surgery is the treatment of choice. In the group of neonates where the cystic adenomatoid malformation doesn't cause respiratory difficulty the authors feel that it might be advisable to postpone surgery until a later date.