Laryngeal and tracheal stents in children.
OBJECTIVE
To review the usage of laryngeal and tracheal stents in the treatment of benign pediatric laryngotracheal disorders, focusing primarily on their role in the management of airway stenosis.


RESULTS
Little progress has been made in the recent past in the introduction of new laryngeal suprastomal stents in the treatment of laryngeal stenosis. The traditionally available Aboulker stent and Montgomery T-tube remain the workhorse stents used in laryngotracheal reconstructive surgery. Their use and characteristics are reviewed herein. The use of stents as a sole primary treatment of benign tracheal obstruction is limited to short-term symptom palliation, as due to the high rate of complications associated with their usage, their application should be restricted to patients in which formal surgery is contraindicated.


CONCLUSIONS
Laryngeal and tracheal stents remain best used primarily as postoperative adjunctive devices to assist in the appropriate healing of reconstructive surgical procedures for benign laryngotracheal stenosis.
Preciado
Diego
D
Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA. dpreciad@cnmc.org
Zalzal
George
G
D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007829:Laryngostenosis / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D015607:Stents; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000601:surgery*