Congenital lung malformation diseases are
uncommon. Symptoms vary: the patients may not
have any or develop dyspnea requiring mechanical
ventilation. The most common disease is congenital
cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM), sometimes
referred to as congenital pulmonary airway
malformation (CPAM). The incidence of this disease
is between 1:10,000 and 1:35,000(11), followed by
congenital lung cyst and pulmonary sequestration,
respectively. The disease can be detected by ultrasound
prenatally—the most common lesion seen being cystic
lesions(2)—so the doctor can make a treatment plan
before delivery. Surgery is the current treatment
approach if a patient has respiratory complications
during the neonatal period; however, in patients
without any symptoms, most physicians prefer
watchful waiting rather than surgery(3). In some
patients, complications such as recurrent respiratory
tract infections necessitate surgery. Thus, the approach
depends on the symptoms. The results of surgical
treatment are usually satisfactory—in particular,
resection in younger patients as the lung tissue
parenchyma can regenerate and regain normal
function.
In Thailand there is no collective data about
these diseases therefore the purpose of the present
study was to review the surgical outcome and natural
history of congenital lung disease among Thai patients.
Material and Method
Patient population
The medical records of patients diagnosed
with a congenital lung malformation and operated upon
were retrospectively reviewed between January 2001
and December 2011. The data includes the prenatal
period (including gestational age when anomalies were
detected, abnormal imaging detected by ultrasound)
and the postnatal period (including age, sex, weight,