Bronchiectasis. Frontal chest bronchograms (X-rays) of a 20-year-old patient with bronchiectasis. Bronchiectasis is where the bronchi and bronchioles, the airways of the lungs, become dilated and distorted, damaging the tissue, making it more prone to infection. It is often the result of scarring caused by previous lung infections, most commonly tuberculosis. Treatment is aimed at controlling infections.