Bronchia Malasia

My son was currently diagnosed with bronchia malasia.  Can anyone inform me on this disorder?  The doc said his bronchia collapses 50% of the time when he breaths.

[National Jewish]

In infants rings of cartilage keep the trachea open so that air can get from the throat to the lungs.  When these rings are small, shaped oddly, not stiff enough, or do not form at all then the trachea can close in on itself.  This is more likely to happen while breathing out and crying.  This may cause wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and/or fast breathing.  Usually the cartilage develops by itself over time so that tracheomalacia is no longer a problem.

When this same problem happens in the smaller airway called a bronchus it is called bronchomalacia.  It is possible that the air will not be able to reach the airsacs that are at the end of that bronchus.  This is called congenital lobar emphysema.