Stridor as initial clinical presentation of tracheal chondroma

Chondromas are benign cartilaginous tumours that are uncommon in the head and neck region. Only few cases of chondroma have been reported in the trachea. We present a 70-year-old patient who presented clinically with severe dyspnoea requiring urgent tracheotomy. An oval, expansive, well-delineated tracheal tumour was evident on magnetic resonance imaging. The mass was removed surgically in its entirety, preserving tracheal rings, and the histopathological diagnosis was chondroma. The patient was decannulated after 2 months, and was followed for 3 years. Urgent tracheotomy is an unusual initial clinical manifestation of this infrequent tumour. Surgical options and the choice of therapy in this case are discussed.