title: Airway reconstruction: review of an approach to the advanced-stage laryngotracheal stenosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The management of laryngotracheal stenosis is complex and is influenced by multiple factors that can affect the ultimate outcome. Advanced lesions represent a special challenge to the treating surgeon to find the best remedying technique.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To review the efficacy of our surgical reconstructive approach in managing advanced-stage laryngotracheal stenosis treated at a tertiary medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of all patients that underwent open laryngotracheal repair/reconstruction by the senior author between 2002 and 2014. Patients with mild/moderate stenosis (e.g. stage 1 or 2), or those who had an open reconstructive procedure prior to referral, were excluded. Patients who had only endoscopic treatment (e.g. laser, balloon dilatation) and were not subjected to an open reconstructive procedure at our institution, were not included in this study. Variables studied included patient demographics, clinical presentation, etiology of the laryngotracheal pathology, the location of stenosis, the stage of stenosis, the type of corrective or reconstructive procedure performed with the type of graft used (where applicable), the type and duration of stent used, the post-reconstruction complications, and the duration of follow-up. Outcome measures included decannulation rate, total number of reconstructive surgeries needed to achieve decannulation, and the number of post-operative endoscopies needed to reach a safe patent airway.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty five patients were included, aged 0.5 months to 45 years (mean 13.5 years, median 15 years) with 16 males and 9 females. Seventeen patients (68%) were younger than 18 years. Most patients presented with stridor, failure of decannulation, or respiratory distress. Majority had acquired etiology for their stenosis with only 24% having a congenital pathology. Thirty-two reconstructive procedures were performed resulting in decannulating 24 patients (96%), with 15/17 (88%) pediatric patients and 5/8 (62.5%) adult patients requiring only a single reconstructive procedure. Cartilage grafts were mostly used in children (84% vs. 38%) and stents were mostly silicone made, followed by endotracheal tubes. The number of endoscopies required ranged from 1 to 7 (mean 3). More co-morbidities existed in young children, resulting in failure to decannulate one patient. Adult patients had more complex pathologies requiring multiple procedures to achieve decannulation, with grafting less efficacious than in younger patients. The pediatric patients had double the incidence of granulation tissue compared to adults. The decannulated patients remained asymptomatic at a mean follow-up of 50.5 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The review of our approach to open airway repair/reconstruction showed its efficacy in advanced-stage laryngotracheal stenosis. Good knowledge of a variety of reconstructive techniques is important to achieve good results in a variety of age groups.
authors.affiliation: American University of Beirut, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Beirut, Lebanon; American University of Beirut, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon; University of Sydney, Sydney Medical School, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Department of ENT Surgery, Sydney, Australia; Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Dubai, UAE. Electronic address: mbitar-md@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohamad Ahmad
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bitar
authors.affiliation: American University of Beirut, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Randa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Al Barazi
authors.affiliation: American University of Beirut, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Rana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barakeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007829:Laryngostenosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cricotracheal resection; Estadiamento; Estenose laringotraqueal; Estenose subglótica; Laryngotracheal reconstruction; Laryngotracheal stenosis; Mapeamento; Mapping; Reconstrução laringotraqueal; Ressecção cricotraqueal; Staging; Subglottic stenosis