Idiopathic subglottic stenosis

A 2 1/2-year-old child was found to have subglottic stenosis with no obvious etiology. He initially responded well to dilatation, injection of triamcinolone and intermittent stenting of the airway, but four months later developed a marked, unyielding subglottic stenosis requiring tracheostomy. He had a gradual good response to dilatations and injections with triamcinolone and acquired a good subglottic lumen. However, he developed a recurrence following an episode of croup. Systemic steroids were added to the regimen leading to gradual resolution of the stenosis and successful decannulation. The embryogenesis of subglottic stenosis and the correlation with the known anatomy and histology are discussed. Subglottic stenosis may be congenital, traumatic, inflammatory, neoplastic or neurogenic. An additional group of patients has no obvious etiology and are classified as idiopathic. Treatment consists of various combinations of stents, systemic and intralesional steroids, dilatations and various operative procedures in the more refractory cases.