1988 Volume 10 Issue 3 Pages 250-255
Twelve patients treated with Nd : YAG laser for airway stenosis caused by non-tumorous lesions were studied. Eight of 12 patients had granulomas after surgical treatment, such as tracheostomy, endotracheal intubation and sleeve lobectomy, two had tuberculosis, one had broncholithiasis and one had psittacosis with tracheal granuloma. Seven patients with granulomas and one with broncholithiasis were successfully managed by bronchoscopic Nd : YAG laser irradiation. In these cases, the stenotic lesions were shorter than 2 cm in length and were non-circumferential except two cases after sleeve lobectomy. Two cases with tuberculosis and two with circumferential granulomas caused by tracheal tube cuffs resulted in failure. The stenosis length in these cases were greater than 3 cm. We think that Nd : YAG laser treatment can be useful for stenosis caused by non-tumorous lesion in cases with the following three factors : non-tuberculous lesion ; stenosis length shorter than 2 cm ; and non-circumferential stenosis.
