Surgical Management of Upper Airway Stenosis

Management of the patient with airway stenosis requires a comprehensive operative and perioperative team and an adequate preoperative workup to determine the most appropriate procedure for each patient. Ideally, a patient may benefit from straightforward endoscopic dilation, and for those who do not meet criteria or fail to respond, more extensive open procedures may provide long-term success. Whether the procedure is performed endoscopically or via an open approach, the results of any of these operations may be very gratifying, if the surgeon and patient have reasonable expectations and are prepared for possible complications.