Carbon dioxide laser management of laryngeal stenosis

A retrospective review of 20 cases of laryngeal stenosis treated with the carbon dioxide laser was conducted at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Northwestern University. The stenoses were grouped into four categories: supraglottic, glottic, subglottic, and combined glottic-subglottic. Twenty patients had 21 lesions excised by 40 laser procedures. Eleven of 21 stenoses were successfully managed by carbon dioxide laser endoscopy: 3 of 3 supraglottic, 6 of 10 glottic, 2 of 4 subglottic, and 0 of 4 combined laryngeal/tracheal stenoses. Eleven of the 20 patients had significant airway improvement or decannulation. Soft tissue stenoses of the supraglottic area respond favorably to carbon dioxide laser excision. In other regions of the larynx, the use of supplemental stents, steroid injections, dilatations, and the micro-trapdoor surgical flap technique in scar stenosis may increase the rate of success. The lower success rate in the posterior commissure, subglottic, and combined laryngotracheal stenoses is due to the circumferential, thick stenosis with a vertical depth of more than 1 cm and the fibrotic fixation of the arytenoid cartilages. Small cicatrices appear to respond better to laser vaporization than the large ones which frequently recur.