[Endoscopic laser surgery in laryngeal stenoses]

The use of CO2 laser beam is quite common in the treatment of laryngeal stenosis, but it also has precise limits. In general, endoscopic laser surgery has possibilities of success only in stenosis resulting from non-circumferential soft tissue involvement the depth of which is less than one centimeter; in more complex forms of stenosis, with cartilagoneous involvement, endoscopic laser treatment is rarely successful. Laser surgery efficacy varies in this condition: results are better in treatment of post-traumatic and post-surgical stenosis, while the outcome is definitely worse in stenosis resulting from radiotherapy and ingestion of corrosive agents. Laser surgery efficacy varies according to the site of lesion: the results are generally good in the supraglottis, variable at the level of the glottis and very poor in the subglottis.