Management of Post-traumatic Laryngotracheal Stenosis: Our Experience

To describe our experience in management of post-traumatic laryngo-tracheal stenosis by study of various surgical methods. To compare our results with different studies. To find out best surgical procedure. Retrospective study. 13 patients of LTS were analyzed within the period of 2009-2013 highlighting the important causes of stenosis, management based on type and severity of stenosis and outcome following the treatment given. Cases were diagnosed in detail with help of flexible laryngoscopy. Finer details of stenosis like site, length, associated injuries were studied with help of CT scan. Various modalities of treatment were used and outcome was assessed. There were 13 patients 9 males and 4 females. Of these 54 % had iatrogenic stenosis and 46 % had traumatic stenosis. 46 % had true stenosis, remaining cases suffered from either soft stenosis or had associated injuries rendering the stenosis as a complex one. The patients underwent a combined surgical approach which included treatment modalities like T-tube insertion, endoscopic dilatation, laser, and open surgical intervention (tracheal resection and anastomosis). Of all the patient treated 69.2 % were successfully decannulated and recovered well with a satisfactory airway outcome, (23.07 %) cases remained T-tube dependent, 8 % case died due to septicemia. It was evident that prolonged intubation remained most common cause of tracheal stenosis and the management varied depending on the type of stenosis. Simple soft stenosis could be managed well by endoscopic dilatation and laser while complete, complex stenosis required surgical intervention in form of T-tube stenting or open surgical intervention. Tracheal stenosis is a life threatening complication and difficult to manage. It requires multiple approaches and the successful outcome is assessed by patent airway and voice quality.