Slide Tracheoplasty for Congenital Tracheal Stenosis Repair: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Long- term outcomes of congenital tracheal stenosis after slide tracheoplasty

PURPOSE

Long-term outcomes of slide tracheoplasty in patients with congenital tracheal stenosis (CTS) have rarely been reported. This study aimed to clarify the long-term outcomes of CTS after slide tracheoplasty.

METHODS

The medical records of 33 patients who underwent slide tracheoplasty for CTS at our institution between January 2005 and July 2018, with a follow-up duration > 5 years, were retrospectively reviewed. Patients' characteristics, perioperative condition, operative management, postoperative course, tracheal stenosis rates and growth data, were collected from medical records.

RESULTS

The median operative age, minimum tracheal diameter, length of stenosis, duration of hospital stays, and follow-up duration were 8 months, 2.4 mm, 35 mm, 39 days, and 90 months, respectively. One patient died of bleeding in the right lung at 126 months postoperatively. Among the 10 patients requiring postoperative tracheostomy, seven were successfully decannulated at a median of 65 months postoperatively. Tracheal stenosis rates improved postoperatively and were subsequently maintained. Growth impairment and psychomotor delay were observed in 9 and 16 patients, respectively with significant differences found only in cases with genetic abnormalities and not in tracheal stenosis severity.

CONCLUSION

Slide tracheoplasty for CTS leads to favorable long-term outcomes. However, various associated anomalies may influence growth and psychomotor development, emphasizing the importance of adequate support.

[Paediatric Airway Surgery - Indications and Techniques]

Even in specialised centres, surgical procedures on the airway are only rarely performed in paediatric patients. Moreover, knowledge of various specific anatomical characteristics, diseases and surgical techniques is a prerequisite to treat these patients. Most commonly, sequelae of long-term intubation or tracheostomy in multimorbid patients necessitate surgical repair. Moreover, congenital malformations of the airways might require surgical interventions. However, these are commonly associated with other organ malformations, which adds further complexity to the treatment concept. Thus, cooperation within an interdisciplinary team is absolutely necessary to treat these patients. However, good postoperative outcomes after paediatric airway surgery can be achieved in experienced centres with an appropriate infrastructure. Specifically, this means long-term tracheostomy-free survival with preserved laryngeal functions in most of the patients. This review provides a summary of common indications and surgical techniques in paediatric airway surgery.

Treatment of long-segment congenital tracheal stenosis with congenital cardiovascular defects in infancy

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of simultaneous repair for infants with long-segment congenital tracheal stenosis (LSCTS) with congenital cardiovascular defects (CCD).

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of infants aged less than 1 year with LSCTS and CCD who underwent simultaneous repair at Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2020 to March 2023. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library for the relevant published studies that reported the simultaneous repair of CTS and CCD in infancy was conducted in March 2023. The inverse variance method of DerSimonian-Laird (D + L) was used for estimate synthesis.

RESULTS

A total of thirteen infants with a mean age of 5.6 ± 3.1 months and a mean weight of 6.4 ± 0.9 Kg underwent slide tracheoplasty with modified procedures and cardiovascular operations. LSCTS was diagnosed in all thirteen patients. Nine infants were ventilator dependent, and four patients were operated on due to persistent wheezing and recurrent respiratory infections. Seven patients underwent pulmonary artery sling repair, and six underwent atrial septal defect repair. All infants were repaired utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) support. Significant complications were recorded in three patients. In-hospital deaths were seen in one case. The median tracheal minimum diameter of hospital survivors was significantly larger than the preoperative minimum diameter (p < 0.001). The mean follow-up duration was 17.1 ± 7.1 months. There was no late mortality during the follow-up. Twelve studies were included based on our search strategy. The pooled estimate of mortality in the literature was 10.9% (95%CI, 5.3%-17.7%, I2 = 0). The pooled estimate of airway re-interventions was 28.8% (95%CI, 14.5%-43.2%, I2 = 74%).

CONCLUSIONS

Simultaneous repair of LSCTS and CCD in infancy is safe and effective. Slide tracheoplasty with appropriate technical modifications may be valid for LSCTS repair without significant restenosis and reinterventions.

Tracheal reconstruction surgery for congenital tracheal stenosis

PURPOSE

Congenital tracheal stenosis is a rare but dangerous disease. Reconstructive tracheal surgery is a life-saving treatment but also a challenging procedure. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of tracheal reconstruction surgery.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted with all the records of congenital tracheal stenosis which had been managed by tracheal reconstruction surgery at Children's Hospital 2 Ho Chi Minh City from August 2013 to August 2022.

RESULTS

Sixty-seven cases, who underwent slide tracheoplasty, were included in our study. Mean age was 7.6 months (25 days - 8 years). Common congenital-associated lesion was left pulmonary artery sling, accounting for 65.7% of cases. Bronchial stenosis was found in 22.4% patients. Emergency surgery was performed in eight cases. The survival rate in this review was 86.6%. Nine patients died in which four of nine cases (44.4%) were emergency surgery. The recurrent stenosis rate was 8.9%, only two cases needed reoperation in which one died and one recovered uneventfully. The outcomes of surgery were good in 53 cases (79.1%).

CONCLUSION

Tracheal reconstruction surgery with slide tracheoplasty technique is safe and versatile technique which is feasible in every case of congenital tracheal stenosis. Mortality was associated with severe cases which required emergency surgery.

Pädiatrische Atemwegschirurgie: Indikationen und Techniken

In der pädiatrischen Atemwegschirurgie sind zahlreiche anatomische Besonderheiten, spezifische Krankheitsbilder sowie spezielle Operationstechniken zu beachten. Auch an spezialisierten Zentren sind diese Eingriffe bei pädiatrischen Patienten eher selten. Ätiologisch handelt es sich meist um erworbene Stenosen als Folge von Frühgeburtlichkeit, Langzeitintubation oder -tracheotomie, welche typischerweise in Kindern mit zahlreichen Komorbiditäten auftreten. Kongenitale Fehlbildungen der Atemwege gehen häufig mit weiteren Malformationen einher, welche die erfolgreiche Behandlung zusätzlich erschweren. Voraussetzung zur Behandlung dieser Kinder sollte daher ein multidisziplinäres Team sein. An erfahrenen Zentren mit entsprechender Infrastruktur kann die chirurgische Behandlung dieser Kinder mit sehr guten Ergebnissen durchgeführt werden. So wird bei den meisten Patienten nach chirurgischer Behandlung eine sehr gute Lebensqualität ohne Notwendigkeit einer Langzeittracheostomie erreicht. Diese Übersichtsarbeit fasst die wichtigsten Indikationen, sowie die häufigsten Operationstechniken in der pädiatrischen Atemwegschirurgie zusammen.