OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy of suspension laryngoscopic surgery for benign laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS).

METHODSThirty-two patients (aged from 5 to 70 years with a median of 36 years) with benign LTS were studied retrospectively who were treated by suspension laryngoscopic surgery with or without assistance of CO₂ Laser for LTS. Stents were placed in 17 cases. Among 32 patients, 13 cases were with LST in Cotton I, 8 cases in Cotton II, and 11 cases in Cotton III; 23 were with single level narrow, and 9 cases with multi-level narrow; the average narrow length was 1.3 cm and the average diameter at maximum stenosis was 0.5 cm; and 19 cases underwent tracheostomy before surgery.

RESULTSFollow-up period ranged from 1 to 18 years with median time of 10 years. Twenty-six patients (81.2%) were successfully decannulated with good airway patency and effective phonation. Six cases failed and 1 case of them was changed to open surgery. Among 17 cases with stent placement, 4 cases were applied additionally with T tube (effective rate of 50.0%), 1 case with laryngeal keel, 12 cases with stents alone (effective rate of 66.7%). Stent-related complications occurred in 2 cases. Patients with cotton I-II had a successful rate of 100% (21/21), while patients with Cotton III showed poor effectiveness (5/11), with a statistical significant difference between two groups (χ² = 14.098, P = 0.001). The patients with single level LTS were successfully treated by suspension laryngoscopic surgery with 100% successful rate (23/23), while the patients with multi-level LTS showed poor effectiveness (3/9), with a statistical significant difference between two groups (χ² = 18.872, P = 0.000) .

CONCLUSIONSSuspension laryngoscopic microsurgery can treat single level LTS with good results and also can be used as a pre-surgery in treatment of multi-level LTS with the virtue of minimal trauma and short recovery time. Application of stents can be helpful for suspension laryngoscope surgery for LST.