TREATMENT OF EXTENSIVE CICATRICIAL STENOSIS OF THE LARYNX OR THE TRACHEA

Abstract

Extensive cicatricial stenosis of the larynx or the upper part of the trachea usually can be treated most successfully by an open operation through an incision in the neck; such direct exposure permits accurate excision of the thickened scar tissue producing the stricture. In those cases in which this precise method of reestablishing the normal dimensions of the laryngeal or the tracheal lumen is to be employed, it is distinctly advantageous to divide the course of treatment into three separate stages: first, the surgical removal of the cicatrix; second, the mechanical prevention of a tendency toward narrowing or constriction of the newly made lumen (over a long period, usually six months), and, third, the plastic closure of the external tracheal opening. The difficulties which arise in the care of patients during these three stages of treatment are due not to the want of technics which are capable of producing creditable