title: Results of interventional bronchoscopy in the management of postoperative tracheobronchial stenosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of bronchoscopic intervention in the management of postoperative tracheobronchial stenosis, a retrospective study was performed at a tertiary referral hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients who underwent 106 bronchoscopic interventions between January 2000 and July 2010, including ballooning, bouginage, Nd:YAG laser resection, and stent insertion, were included and followed up for a median of 34 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Silicone stents were required in 19 of 30 patients (63%) to maintain airway patency. Bronchoscopic intervention provided improvement of dyspnea in 97% of the patients. After airway stabilization, the stents were removed successfully in 7 of 19 patients (37%) a median of 7 months after insertion. In 3 patients (10%), the intervention failed to widen the airway. There were no procedure-related deaths or cases of pneumonia, although additional interventions were needed in 9 patients (30%) within 30 days. Stent-related late complications (70%), such as restenosis (43%), overgrowth of granulation tissue (33%), stent migration (32%), mucostasis (30%), and malacia after stent removal (16%), were controllable at follow-up bronchoscopy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bronchoscopic intervention could be a useful treatment modality for patients with postoperative tracheobronchial stenosis when surgery is not feasible.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Byeong-Ho
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Sang-Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Um
authors.forename: Gee Young
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Man Pyo
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: O Jung
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Hojoong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jhingook
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001982:Bronchial Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D020878:Device Removal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012828:Silicones; D015607:Stents; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D012828:Silicones