Thoracoscopic lobectomy for a 4-day-old neonate with a large congenital pulmonary airway malformation: a case report

BACKGROUND Congenital pulmonary airway malformation is a rare congenital lung lesion. Infants with large Congenital pulmonary airway malformation can present with a series of serious symptoms. Surgery is still the main treatment. Thoracoscopic lobectomy for neonates is rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION The authors report a case of a congenital pulmonary airway malformation located in the left lower lung of a 4-day-old female infant. Prenatally, the cystic adenomatoid malformation volume ratio was 2.99 according to ultrasound scan. After birth, thoracoscopic lobectomy was performed to alleviate respiratory failure and mediastinal hernia. The patient's clinical symptoms and the X-ray re-examination showed good postoperative recovery. CONCLUSIONS The purpose of this study is to indicate that a safe and effective minimally invasive surgery for the giant congenital pulmonary airway malformation is feasible, even for infants only 4 days old.