Surgical considerations in tracheal stenosis

From 1969 to 1990, 43 patients with tracheal stenosis were treated at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Seventy-four percent of these patients (n = 32) had intrinsic tracheal stenosis, most frequently as a complication of prolonged endotracheal trauma. A total of 41 distinctly separate stenotic segments were identified in the 32 patients. The stenoses were considered moderate or severe in 33 (80%) of the 41 cases and the length of the stenotic segment was greater than 1 cm in 23 (56%) of the cases. An overall 70% success rate was achieved following 93 surgical procedures in this group. The concurrent presence of glottic/subglottic stenosis, multiple segments of stenosis, bilateral vocal cord paralysis, tracheoesophageal fistula, and a tendency to marked hypertrophic scar formation were found to be significant factors in the surgical management of this patient group.