Operative endoscopy of the airway with the old-fashioned esophageal dilators.
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.
Venuta
Federico
F
Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Rome La Sapienza, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy. sofed@libero.it
Rendina
Erino A
EA
De Giacomo
Tiziano
T
Ciccone
Anna Maria
AM
Anile
Marco
M
Moretti
Marco
M
Coloni
Giorgio Furio
GF
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