Anterior laryngofissure approach in type III laryngotracheal cleft: a case report

Laryngeal and laryngotracheal clefts are rare congenital malformations of the laryngobronchial tree. Their symptoms vary from mild cough to life threatening pulmonary aspiration and cyanosis. Type I and II clefts can be observed without surgical intervention, whereas type III and IV clefts usually require an anterior or lateral cervical approach. We present a case of type III laryngotracheal cleft seen in a 3-monthold male infant who died during revision surgery after an anterior laryngofissure approach. We discuss the difficulties in diagnosis, management and importance of anaesthesia for these rare anomalies in light of the current literature.

The role of endoscopy in the treatment of IV type laryngotracheal cleft complications after surgical repair

Laryngotracheal cleft (LTC) is a rare congenital anomaly. Severe forms of LTC are usually treated surgically using extracorporeal circulation. Despite tremendous improvement of surgical techniques, postoperative complications are still frequent. We report a comprehensive description of an endoscopic approach to diagnosis, surgical repair and endoscopic treatment of complications after correction in a type IV LTC.