[Surgical management of laryngeal stenosis in children]

Surgical management of children with laryngotracheal stenosis changed recently because of the procedure of single-stage approach. Between January 1992 and April 1997, 101 children underwent surgery for laryngotracheal stenosis in our department: 47 of them had a single stage procedure, and 54 a classic laryngotracheoplasty with stenting with an Aboulker's tube or silastic sheets. The majority of the cases were acquired stenosis (64%) and the others congenital. The degree of stenosis was graded into four categories according to Cotton's classification. Thirty six cases were grade 2, 44 cases were grade 3, 21 cases were grade 4. Subglottic localization of the stenosis was found in 64% of the cases and the mobility of the vocal folds was normal in 60% of the cases. The surgery was considered successful after one procedure when there was a permanent and permeable laryngotracheal lumen (no more than grade 1) not requiring a tracheotomy. Of the 47 single-stage procedures, 38 were successful (81%); of the 54 cases managed with classic methods, 30 were successful (55%). These results and the indications of the different surgical procedures are discussed.