title: Endobronchial argon plasma coagulation for the management of post-intubation tracheal stenosis.
abstract: Post-intubation tracheal stenosis is usually caused by pressure necrosis at the cuff. Despite the fact that this phenomenon is well known and both large volume and low pressure cuffs have been developed, this lesion nevertheless continues to occur. Although the best results for tracheal reconstruction are obtained by an experienced surgeon, not all patients are able to undergo this operation for either medical or personal reasons. Argon plasma coagulation (APC) using flexible bronchoscopy has been successfully employed in the treatment of post-intubation tracheal stenosis in two of the surgery-refused and inoperable patients. The patients immediately experienced a relief of symptoms after APC. APC was thus performed 3-4 times every 1-2 weeks for each patient. In addition, there were no complications related to this procedure. The number of published clinical reports describing APC in benign airway stenosis are increasing. APC has also been reported to have several advantages over other interventional endobronchial techniques in the management of tracheo-bronchial stenosis. We report two patients, and to our knowledge this is the first description of APC being used in the treatment of endobronchial dilatation for post-intubation tracheal stenosis.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan. yasumasa@hsp.md.shinshu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yasuo
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsushima
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Yoshimichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.forename: Seiichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Shino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.forename: Sumiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: Keishi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001128:Argon / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D001128:Argon