[Trans-vocal cord prostheses - preliminary experience treating benign laryngotracheal stenosis in adults]

Benign laryngotracheal stenosis is a rare pathology with multiple etiologies, the management of which is complex. This is because of the configuration and proximity of the larynx and the difficulty with surgical approaches, which are potentially mutilating, especially for the management of a benign disease. When surgery is challenging, iterative dilatations of the stricture or the fashioning of a definitive tracheotomy are therapeutic alternatives. Advances in rigid bronchoscopy and the evolution of prosthetic silicone material allow a new approach in the management of benign laryngotracheal stenosis, by placing flexible silicone prostheses which cover all the stenosis from the arytenoids to the trachea. This preliminary work aims to evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, tolerance and complications of the implementation of this type of prosthesis.

This is a retrospective single-centre study which analyzed the records of patients with symptomatic benign laryngotracheal stenosis who underwent placement of a transcordial prosthesis over a period of three years. The prosthesis used, inserted under general anesthesia during a rigid tube interventional bronchoscopy, was either a straight silicone prosthesis or a Montgomery T-tube for those with a pre-existing tracheotomy.

Six patients were included. Five are still alive, one patient died from a cause unrelated to the placement of the prosthesis. Four have no tracheostomy and two now have no transcordal prosthesis. The data collected on tolerance found, for three patients, two cases of minor aspiration and one case of transient cough. All patients had whispered voice dysphonia. We did not observe prosthesis migration or obstruction.

These preliminary results are encouraging. Transcordal prostheses in benign laryngotracheal stenosis have a complementary or alternative role compared to surgery with a palliative or even curative objective.