What is tracheamalasia and its effects on feeding

Does he have a tracheostomy now?

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Lori

No tracheostomy; his parents were told that the tracheamalasia will clear up on its own. I know nothing about tracheamalasia; I am trying to determine if this child would benefit from speech/feeding therapy

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I am assuming that this is a congenital condition and not due to prolonged intubation? If that is correct, most babies born with tracheomalacia do sort of "outgrow" it by about 18-24 months. At this point, it could be that he is having trouble coordinating his breathing with his eating/swallowing food, and this is a learned behavior because he can let the pureed food "slide" down his esophagus rather than going through the chewing and swallowing process of more solid foods. I wouldn't worry about it at this point, as long as he is eating enough to get the nutrients he needs. Will he be getting a laryngoscopy or bronchoscopy in the future to determine if the tracheomalacia has cleared up? If so, and if the doctor feels he no longer suffers from that, he may need a swallow study to determine if his aversion to solid foods has become a learned behavior that he'll need help overcoming. A lot of babies with this condition are fed with an NG tube that goes from their nose, past the back of their throat, down the esophagus and into the stomach. So, it's a good thing that he is eating on his own without the aid of this tube. Once you get used to it, it's not a big deal, but it is certainly better to not have to use it.

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Lori