Circumferential tracheal resection with primary anastomosis for post-intubation tracheal stenosis: study of 24 cases

The objective of this study is to evaluate the results of circumferential tracheal and cricotracheal resection with primary anastomosis for the treatment of post-intubation tracheal and cricotracheal stenosis. This is a retrospective analytical study. A total number of 24 patients were included in this study. The relevant preoperative, operative and postoperative records were collected and analyzed. Twenty patients were finally symptom-free reflecting an anastomosis success rate of 83.3 %. Variable grades of anastomotic restenosis occurred in 11 (45.8 %) patients, three patients were symptom-free and eight had airway obstructive symptoms. Four out of the eight patients with symptomatic restenosis were symptom-free with endoscopic dilatation while the remaining four patients required a permanent airway appliance (T-tube, tracheostomy) for the relief of airway obstruction and this group was considered as anastomotic failure. Cricoid involvement, associated cricoid resection and the type of anastomosis were the variables that had statistical impact on the occurrence of restenosis (P = 0.017, 0.017, 0.05; respectively). Tracheal resection with primary anastomosis is a safe effective treatment method for post-intubation tracheal stenosis in carefully selected patients. Restenosis does not always mean failure of the procedure since it may be successfully managed with endoscopic dilatation.