Congenital laryngeal atresia: two autopsy cases, one describing the use of computed tomography

Two autopsy cases of congenital laryngeal atresia (CLA) were studied. In the first case (a boy delivered at 37 weeks of gestation) the subglottic lumen was almost totally occupied by a dome shaped cricoid cartilage with a pharyngotracheal duct (PTD). No tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) was found. In the second case (a girl born at 41 weeks of gestation) histology showed that the subglottic lumen was almost occluded by an epithelial lamina and a dome-shaped cricoid cartilage. Again no TEF was found. Both cases had PTD and showed normal development of the lungs. These deformities coincided with Smith & Bain's type II subglottic atresia. The anatomy of the lesion was confirmed by postmortem three-dimensional reconstruction CT, the use of which has not previously been reported.