European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
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The objective of our work is to demonstrate in a large cohort of patients with cricotracheal stenosis that resection of long airway segments could be performed with no increased risk of postoperative complications. A consecutive series of patients getting cervical segmental cricotracheal resection (CTR) were reviewed. The typical segmental tracheal resection technique has been modified to accommodate long segment removal. ⋯ Complications occurred in five patients. These included acute airway obstruction requiring emergency tracheostomy through the anastomosis, a tracheal dehiscence, laryngeal edema with airway obstruction, superficial wound infections, neck abscesses, and transient vocal cord immobility. Modified cricotracheal resection has comparable results to traditional techniques and may offer advantages such as resection of long tracheal segments without any increase in the risk of post-anastomosis airway leak.