Bronchoscopic needle aspiration biopsy of paratracheal tumors.

Primary lung carcinoma adjacent to the trachea and paratracheal nodal metastasis without evidence of the primary tumor or airway invasion require invasive surgical procedures to obtain adequate diagnostic tissues. Adequate diagnostic tissue was obtained in 3 of 5 patients with paratracheal masses by means of a bronchoscopic needle aspiration technique. There were no complications.