Use of the carbon dioxide laser for tracheobronchial pathology in children.

The carbon dioxide (CO2) laser has been used to treat tracheobronchial pathology for more than 20 years. It was initially employed in adults and now has been found to be useful in the treatment of certain lesions in children. We present our experience with this technique in 30 patients treated with a CO2 bronchoscopic laser from 1987 to 1995 in the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department of Armand Trousseau Hospital. Four different types of pathologies have been successfully treated with the laser: selective cases of tracheobronchial stenosis following trauma and/or secondary to neonatal ventilation, posttraumatic tracheobronchial granuloma (due to foreign bodies or tracheotomies), tracheobronchial granulomas of infectious origin (tuberculosis), and selective cases of tracheobronchial tumor.