Surgical Management of Tracheal Stenosis: A Retrospective Study of Prognosis and Survival

The goal of this study was to evaluate the results and complications of tracheal stenosis and tracheal reconstructive surgeries.

This descriptive study was conducted on patients whose tracheal stenosis was repaired by surgery in the Thorax Center of Alzahra Hospital (Isfahan, Iran) during 1998-2008. Data of patients including age, sex, etiology of stenosis, signs and symptoms onset after intubation, length of resected sections, postoperative complications, and patient's attitude toward recovery was collected and analyzed by descriptive statistics.

A total number of 52 patients with the mean age of 39.15 ± 2.67 years were included and studied. Males constituted 75% of the population. The most common sign was dyspnea (75%). Postoperative complications included wound infection (7.7%), recurrent stenosis (21.2%), and disruption (1.9%). Mortality and success rates were 5.8% and 73%, respectively. In the follow up, hoarseness, mild dyspnea without significant function drop, and tracheostomy were observed in 5.8%, 3.8%, and 3.8% of the patients, respectively. In addition, in 7 patients, bronchoscopic dilation was performed after disease recurrence. Treatment was successful in 86.5% of the cases. Patient's attitude significantly improved in 50% of the patients and fairly improved in 34.6% of the subjects. However, 11.5% showed no improvement in the attitude and 3.8% admitted that their condition was worse.

The intubation period was 21 days that is long. Therefore, more planning needs to be performed to reduce this time. Ultimate success rate was close to similar studies.