Laryngotracheal stenosis: a serious complication of percutaneous tracheostomy.
Tracheostomy in patients requiring prolonged artificial ventilation in intensive care is increasingly being performed by a percutaneous dilatational technique, in preference to the standard surgical method. Since its introduction numerous series have reported favourably on its general safety in the short-term, but there have been few reports of longer term follow-up of patients. We present four cases of laryngotracheal stenosis, a previously unreported complication associated with the technique, and discuss the relevance of these to the future practice of percutaneous tracheostomy.
McFarlane
C
C
Department of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh.
Denholm
S W
SW
Sudlow
C L
CL
Moralee
S J
SJ
Grant
I S
IS
Lee
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007385:Intermittent Positive-Pressure Ventilation; D007829:Laryngostenosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000209:etiology*; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods