Acute airway compromise due to tracheal mucocele.

Two cases of patients with acute airway compromise due to benign tracheal mucocele are presented. In each, the diagnosis was made by flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Each patient developed the acute episode at 12 months of age following an upper airway infection. The mucoceles were "unroofed" and drained through rigid bronchoscopes. Both patients had been intubated following premature birth; trauma to the tracheal mucosa is proposed as the etiologic factor in the development of these mucoceles.