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[Tracheal stenosis following direct laryngoscopy]
The appearance of progressive and disabling dyspnoea in a 58 year old lady, beginning three months after direct laryngoscopy (LD) led to a pulmonary function assessment after six months of mistaken diagnoses. The flow/volume (V/V) curves were characteristic of a high fixed obstruction. Fibreoptic endoscopy showed a non-neoplastic stenosis by a sub-glottic diaphragm. The stenosis was treated in a lasting fashion using a Yag laser (Medilas 2). Other than a congenital stenosis presenting in adulthood, the only cause that can be considered is a traumatic stenosis (post-LD) on an inflamed larynx. Such an aetiology for tracheal stenosis has never, to our knowledge, been described. Even if this type of stenosis is extremely rare, the possibility should not be ignored.
The appearance of progressive and disabling dyspnoea in a 58 year old lady, beginning three months after direct laryngoscopy (LD) led to a pulmonary function assessment after six months of mistaken diagnoses. The flow/volume (V/V) curves were characteristic of a high fixed obstruction. Fibreoptic endoscopy showed a non-neoplastic stenosis by a sub-glottic diaphragm. The stenosis was treated in a lasting fashion using a Yag laser (Medilas 2). Other than a congenital stenosis presenting in adulthood, the only cause that can be considered is a traumatic stenosis (post-LD) on an inflamed larynx. Such an aetiology for tracheal stenosis has never, to our knowledge, been described. Even if this type of stenosis is extremely rare, the possibility should not be ignored.