Cricoid split for acute subglottic injury in the older child

To describe our experience of cricoid split in the older child for acquired subglottic stenosis secondary to chemical or thermal burns.

A retrospective case series.

We describe two patients, both two years old, who benefitted from the procedure and had a return to a normal-sized airway. Neither child required a tracheostomy or further airway intervention after the cricoid split.

Laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR) is the standard treatment for subglottic injuries with associated subglottic stenosis in children, infants and (where possible) neonates. We have found the cricoid split a useful technique in carefully selected older children with acute subglottic injury and associated early subglottic stenosis, where LTR or ballooning is not feasible, where there is limited experience of ballooning, and/or ballooning has failed in the early stages of treatment. Cricoid split is a technique that is part of the airway surgeon's open operative repertoire and therefore should be remembered as a management option.