Use of the silicone T-tube to treat tracheal stenosis or tracheal injury.

BACKGROUND Tracheal stenosis or tracheal injury is a troublesome disease. Traditional temporary tracheostomy and reconstruction can resolve some problems. However other problems such as subglottic stenosis and supracarinal stenosis, cannot be resolved by simple tracheostomy. The silicone tracheal T-tube presents a substitute for stent of this complicated disease. METHODS Eleven patients with tracheal stenosis or tracheal injury were managed with the silicone T-tube prosthesis from 1995 to 1999. Among them 5 cases were characterized by subglottic and cervical stenosis, 4 cases supracarinal stenosis, and 2 cases tracheal injury. The silicone T-tube was used for about one year in all patients with satisfactory results. RESULTS One patient was excluded from the study because of death due to unrelated disease. The T-tubes were removed successfully one year later. Among them, two patients with granuloma over the subglottic area were treated by CO(2) laser 2 to 4 times. The stoma was closed by repeated silver nitrate application. CONCLUSIONS The silicone T-tube is a useful prosthesis for tracheal stenosis or tracheal injury with minimal complication in place of traditional tracheostomy or complex tracheal reconstruction.