Cervical slide tracheoplasty

Objective: To describe our experience with cervical slide tracheoplasty (CST) in managing complex laryngotracheal disorders. Design: Retrospective analysis. Setting: Quaternary care pediatric institution. Patients: The study included 29 patients who underwent CST without cardiopulmonary bypass at our institution from January 2003 to January 2011. Main Outcome Measure: Surgery-specific and overall operative success. Results: The most common airway lesion in our cohort of 29 patients (mean age, 10.7 years) was tracheal stenosis (n = 18); 10 of 18 patients had long-segment acquired tracheal stenosis. Operation-specific success was achieved in 23 of 29 patients (79%), including all 10 patients with long-segment acquired tracheal stenosis. Six patients failed initial CST and required additional surgical procedures. Overall success was achieved in 3 of these patients. Patients with subglottic stenosis (n = 7), concomitant glottic stenosis (n = 4), and multilevel airway lesions (n = 10) had lower operation-specific and overall operative success than did patients with other airway lesions. Four patients (14%) experienced complications. Conclusions: Cervical slide tracheoplasty is a valuable technique that should be added to the surgical armamentarium for patients requiring open airway reconstruction. This technique yields a high success rate in treating patients with a broad spectrum of complex laryngotracheal disorders.