Congenital lung malformations in infants

A variety of congenital lung malformations arise from aberrations in different stages of lung development occurring in around 1 in 10-20,000 pregnancies. Occasionally these present in the neonatal period with symptoms, in which case treatment is invariably surgical resection. However, with universal screening for fetal anomalies, by ultrasound at 20 weeks' gestation, an increasing number of lung abnormalities are identified antenatally and the majority cause no symptoms. The management of these babies is controversial. This article discusses the diagnosis and management of the different types of congenital lung malformation.