RESUMO
A 71-year-old patient presented for cough, generalized body aches, and fever. Pulmonary work-up included computed tomography scan of the chest, which showed an irregular anterior tracheal wall. Flexible bronchoscopy showed the presence of multiple sessile nodules in the anterior and lateral walls of the trachea and mainstem bronchi, sparing the posterior membranous wall and the airways distal to the mainstem bronchi. Bronchoalveolar lavage grew Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare and the patient was started on appropriate treatment. Biopsy of the lesions showed no malignancy or inflammation. An 18-month follow-up confirmed stability of these lesions pathognomonic of tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica, a rare benign condition of the large airways. Fewer than 400 patients with this disorder have been described to date.
