title: French experience of silicone tracheobronchial stenting in children.
abstract: Silicone stents were inserted into the trachea or left main-stem bronchus in 14 children aged 2-69 months (median, 7 months). Indications were as follows: tracheomalacia or airway kinking (7 cases), vascular compression (5 cases), and surgically corrected congenital tracheal stenoses (2 cases). The best results were obtained in tracheomalacia. Overall, 6 cases out of 14 (43%) were considered successful, with a stent placement duration of 3-15 months (median, 7 months). Two cases were considered a technical success, although they were clinical failures. Five cases were considered failures primarily due to stent migration. A retrospective analysis of failures suggests that most of these could have been avoided by the use of larger stents. One patient died of stent obstruction. No wall erosion was observed, and the development of granulation tissue was infrequent. Endoscopic removal of the prostheses was uneventful. The biocompatibility of silicone stents appears to be better than what is reported for metal ones, although the stability of the former is less satisfactory. The present study shows the feasibility of silicone stent placement in infants. These stents should be considered as a possible therapeutic option in certain types of childhood airway disorders, although further studies are required.
authors.affiliation: Département de Pédiatrie, Hôpital Pellegrin-Enfants, Bordeaux, France. michael.fayon@chu-bordeaux.fr
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fayon
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Donato
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Blic
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Labbé
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Becmeur
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mely
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dutau
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012828:Silicones; D015607:Stents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards; D014133:Tracheal Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D012828:Silicones