[The treatment of tracheal stenosis by segmental resection (author's transl)]

In the past we treated most tracheal stenoses by creating a temporary open groove with subsequent reconstruction. This method has led to unsatisfactory results in some cases and has the disadvantage of a long duration of treatment. Therefore, we replaced it by segmental resection of the trachea with an end to end anastomosis. During the last 5 years 16 patients between 28 and 57 years of age with scar stenosis or malacia of the trachea have been operated successfully. In 12 patients a tracheostomy or an open groove were present and were included in the resection 11 times and left in place once. The tracheal defects resulting from resection were of a length of 1--5.5 cm. They could in all cases be bridged by mobilization of the trachea, upper laryngeal release and fixation of the head in a flexed position. The respiration is normal in 14 patients while 2 show a slight impairment. We conclude that because of the good functional results and the short duration of treatment (maximally 3 weeks) transverse resection of the trachea with an end to end anastomosis should be preferred over other operative procedures in the therapy of tracheal stenosis.