Endotracheal silicone stents in the management of benign tracheal stenoses:: results after 5 years' follow up

Background. Advances in endoscopic technique and the development of new materials have made stenting an interesting alternative to surgical treatment for extended tracheal stenoses. This 5 years' retrospective study describes long term results of silicon stents in patients with benign chronic tracheal stenoses. Patients and methods. 45 adult patients (mean age: 45 years) had endotracheal Dumon (Endoxane) stent placement as surgical therapy was not indicated. Fiberoptic controls were performed every 3-6 months. Results. In 42 patients therapy proved successful with improved ventilation and high level of tolerance. Acut stent-removal was necessary in 2 patients because of edema of the vocal cords, in 1 patient because of stent independent paralysis of both recurrentes nerves. Further complications included migration (16,6%), granuloma formation (33,3%) and airway obstruction due to heavy secretion (2,3%). Conclusions. Long term results have shown that this technique is associated with high efficiency and infrequent complications which are not life-threatening. Advantages consist in a minor-invasive technique with small expenditure of time.