[Tracheobronchial reconstruction in infants and children].

Fifty-eight infants and children with various tracheobronchial obstructions were surgically treated at Kobe Children's Hospital between 1980 and 1991. The lesions included subglottic stenosis (24), congenital tracheal stenosis (9), tracheomalacia (15), bronchomalacia (6), and others (4). The operative procedures included laryngotracheoplasty using costal cartilage or anterior cricoid split for subglottic stenosis, tracheoplasty with costal cartilage graft for extensive tracheal stenosis, aortopexy for tracheomalacia, and external stenting or bronchial resection with tracheo-bronchial anastomosis for bronchomalacia. In 46 of 58 patients, the endotracheal tube was successfully removed and the patient remained free of respiratory symptoms. These operative results encourage us to continue all surgical procedures except for external stenting for bronchomalacia, which did not correct the collapse of the bronchus.