title: Operative endoscopy of the airway with the old-fashioned esophageal dilators.
abstract: Bronchial dilation is usually required to treat a number of disorders; the most frequent are complications after airway surgery, including lung transplantation, stenosis after radiotherapy, and compression by an extraluminal mass. The procedure is performed by forcing the tip of a rigid bronchoscope through the stenosis using barrels of increasing size; however, when there is a clear discrepancy between the caliber of the rigid instrument and the stenosis, the first step may be difficult. In such cases, we have successfully employed two types of old-fashioned esophageal dilators rescued from the armamentarium of our endoscopy unit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Rome La Sapienza, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy. sofed@libero.it
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Venuta
authors.forename: Erino A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Rendina
authors.forename: Tiziano
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: De Giacomo
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ciccone
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anile
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: Giorgio Furio
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Coloni
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D004106:Dilatation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D004940:Esophageal Stenosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D004945:Esophagoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016040:Lung Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects