Airway interventions in children with Pierre Robin Sequence.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the interventions required for successful airway management in children with Pierre Robin Sequence (PRS).


METHODS
Case series.


METHODS
The records of both a cleft and craniofacial clinic and a pediatric otolaryngology clinic were searched, and all children with PRS were identified. Data concerning feeding interventions, airway interventions, and comorbid conditions were extracted.


RESULTS
Seventy-four cases of PRS were identified. Thirty-eight of the 74 children required airway intervention other than prone positioning. Fourteen of these 38 were managed nonsurgically with nasopharyngeal airway and/or short-term endotracheal intubation, whereas the remaining 24 required surgical intervention. Eighteen of the 24 underwent distraction osteogenesis of the mandible, one underwent tracheostomy, and five underwent tracheostomy followed by eventual distraction.


CONCLUSIONS
In our series, over 50 percent of children with PRS required an airway intervention. These were both nonsurgical and surgical. As otolaryngologists, we must be prepared for the challenges children with PRS may present and the interventions that may be necessary to successfully manage these difficult airways.
Meyer
Abby C
AC
Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota-Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. stri0106@umn.edu
Lidsky
Michael E
ME
Sampson
Daniel E
DE
Lander
Timothy A
TA
Liu
Meixia
M
Sidman
James D
JD
D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery; D019857:Osteogenesis, Distraction; D010855:Pierre Robin Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016684:Prone Position; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014139:Tracheostomy; D016896:Treatment Outcome