Site of Tracheostomy and Its Influence on The Surgical Outcome and Quality of Life After Tracheal Resection and Anastomosis in Patients with Tracheal Stenosis.

With the advances in critical care, the incidence of post intubation tracheal stenosis is increasing. Tracheal resection and anastomosis have been the gold standard for the management of grades III and IV stenosis. Scientific evidence from the literature on the determining factors and outcomes of surgery is not well described.  This study was aimed at determining the influence of tracheostoma site on the surgical outcomes and postoperative quality of life of patients undergoing tracheal resection anastomosis.  Thirteen patients who underwent tracheal resection and anastomosis during a period of 3 years were followed up prospectively for 3 months to determine the degree of improvement in their quality of life postsurgery by comparing the pre and postoperative validated Tamil/vernacular version of RAND SF-36 scores and Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea score.  As per preoperative computed tomography (CT), the mean length of stenosis was found to be 1.5 cm while the mean length of trachea resected was 4.75 cm. We achieved a decannulation rate of 61.53%. There was an estimated loss of 3.20 +/- 1.90 cm of normal trachea from the lower border of the stenosis until the lower border of the stoma that was lost during resection. Analysis of SF-36 and MRC dyspnea scores revealed significant improvement in the domains of physical function postoperatively in comparison with the preoperative scores (  < 0.05).  Diligent placement of tracheostomy in an emergency setting with respect to the stenotic segment plays a pivotal role in minimizing the length of the resected segment of normal trachea.