Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Infant ; Airway Obstruction/complications* ; Laryngostenosis/surgery* ; Tracheostomy

Infants with laryngotracheal anomalies are clinically manifested as stridor or noisy breathing, choking, hoarseness, feeding difficulties, and cyanotic spells, followed by developmental and growth retardation and other health issues; in severe cases, patients may present with severe dyspnea, which is associated with high mortality. A timely diagnosis as well as appropriate strategy for laryngotracheal anomalies is still challenging for pediatric otolaryngologists. This consensus statement, evolved from expert opinion by the members of the Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Professional Committee of the Pediatrician Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, provides comprehensive recommendations and standardized guidance for otolaryngologists who manage infants and young children with laryngotracheal anomalies in evaluation and treatment based on symptomatology, physical and laboratory examinations.
Humans ; Child ; Infant ; Child, Preschool ; Laryngostenosis/surgery* ; Airway Obstruction/complications* ; Hoarseness/complications* ; Consensus ; Respiratory Sounds

Objective:To explore the perioperative airway management and treatment of newborns with micrognathia and laryngomalacia. Methods:From January to December 2022, a total of 6 newborns with micrognathia and laryngomalacia were included. Preoperative laryngoscopy revealed concomitant laryngomalacia. These micrognathia were diagnosed as Pierre Robin sequences. All patients had grade Ⅱ or higher symptoms of laryngeal obstruction and required oxygen therapy or non-invasive ventilatory support. All patients underwent simultaneous laryngomalacia surgery and mandibular distraction osteogenesis. The shortened aryepiglottic folds were ablated using a low-temperature plasma radiofrequency during the operation. Tracheal intubation was maintained for 3-5 days postoperatively. Polysomnography（PSG） and airway CT examination were performed before and 3 months after the surgery. Results:Among the 6 patients, 4 required oxygen therapy preoperatively and 2 required non-invasiveventilatory support. The mean age of patients was 40 days at surgery. The inferior alveolar nerve bundle was not damaged during the operation, and there were no signs of mandibular branch injury such as facial asymmetry after the surgery. Laryngomalacia presented as mixed type: type Ⅱ+ type Ⅲ. The maximum mandibular distraction distance was 20 mm, the minimum was 12 mm, and the mean was 16 mm. The posterior airway space increased from a preoperative average of 3.5 mm to a postoperative average of 9.5 mm. The AHI decreased from a mean of 5.65 to 0.85, and the lowest oxygen saturation increased from a mean of 78% to 95%. All patients were successfully extubated after the surgery, and symptoms of laryngeal obstruction such as hypoxia and feeding difficulties disappeared. Conclusion:Newborns with micrognathia and laryngomalacia have multi-planar airway obstruction. Simultaneous laryngomalacia surgery and mandibular distraction osteogenesis are safe and feasible, and can effectively alleviate symptoms of laryngeal obstruction such as hypoxia and feeding difficulties, while significantly improving the appearance of micrognathia.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant ; Micrognathism/surgery* ; Laryngomalacia/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Mandible/surgery* ; Airway Obstruction/surgery* ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Laryngeal Diseases ; Osteogenesis, Distraction ; Oxygen ; Retrospective Studies

Objective:To discuss the clinical characteristic and treatment of laryngeal cysts in infants. Methods:The clinical data of 19 patients diagnosed with laryngeal cysts in Department of Otolaryngology, Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital from November 2017 to April 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Results:All of the 19 patients were diagnosed as laryngeal cysts, with clinical manifestations included respiratory distress, inspiratory dyspnea, difficulty in feeding and low and weak crying, etc. All of them were cured after surgical treatment. Conclusion:Misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of laryngeal cysts are prone to occur in infants and young children. After diagnosis, patients should undergo early surgical treatment to remove airway obstruction and improve ventilation.
Pregnancy ; Infant ; Child ; Humans ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Retrospective Studies ; Laryngeal Diseases/surgery* ; Airway Obstruction/surgery* ; Laryngoscopy ; Cysts/surgery* ; Dyspnea/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To discover the factors that may affect the use of selective tracheostomy among patients who have undergone head and neck surgeries with free flap reconstruction, so that the patients will not need tracheostomy nor receive the unnecessary treatment. METHODS: Five hundred and thirty-three patients who had undergone head and neck surgery with free flap reconstruction operated by the same team of surgery at Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Peking University School of Stomatology from 2015 to 2016 were reviewed. Three hundred and twenty-one (60.2%) of these patients underwent selective tracheostomy. All the patients' demographic information, operation-related information, prior treatments, comorbidities and complications were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The patients with defects of the tongue, mouth floor, oropharynx and bilateral mandible, who underwent neck dissection and with previous radiotherapy and smoking habit were more likely to get selective tracheostomy. Usage of bulky soft tissue flap might also add to the risk of airway obstruction and the need of selective tracheostomy, while other factors were not significantly related to the risk of postoperative airway obstruction and the patients could be kept safe without selective tracheostomy. Most cases without tracheostomy were kept safe except one case, while 8.39% of the patients with tracheostomy suffered from tracheostomy related complications, mainly pneumonia and hemorrhage of the tracheostomy wound, yet none led to serious consequences or even death. CONCLUSION Selective tracheostomy is not necessary for patients who have undergone head and neck surgeries with free flap reconstruction except that there are defects at the tongue, oropharynx and mandible. Neck dissection, bulky soft tissue flap reconstruction, previous radiotherapy and smoking habit may also add to the risk of postoperative airway obstruction, while a favorable decision would involve a combination of all the above factors to assure the safety of the postoperative airway for the patients undergone head and neck surgeries with free flap reconstruction.
Airway Obstruction/surgery* ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/surgery* ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications/surgery* ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tracheostomy

Awake fiberoptic nasotracheal intubation is a useful technique, especially in patients with airway obstruction. It must not only provide sufficient anesthesia, but also maintain spontaneous breathing. We introduce a method to achieve this using a small dose of fentanyl and midazolam in combination with topical anesthesia. The cases of 2 patients (1 male, 1 female) who underwent oral maxillofacial surgery are reported. They received 50 µg of fentanyl 2–3 times (total 2.2–2.3 µg/kg) at intervals of approximately 2 min. Oxygen was administered via a mask at 6 L/min, and 0.5 mg of midazolam was administered 1–4 times (total 0.02–0.05 mg/kg) at intervals of approximately 2 min. A tracheal tube was inserted through the nasal cavity after topical anesthesia was applied to the epiglottis, vocal cords, and into the trachea through the fiberscope channel. All patients were successfully intubated. This is a useful and safe method for awake fiberoptic nasotracheal intubation.
Airway Obstruction ; Anesthesia ; Conscious Sedation ; Epiglottis ; Fentanyl ; Humans ; Intubation ; Male ; Masks ; Methods ; Midazolam ; Nasal Cavity ; Oxygen ; Respiration ; Surgery, Oral ; Trachea ; Vocal Cords

The beauty of the laryngeal mask is that it forms an air tight seal enclosing the larynx rather than plugging the pharynx, and avoid airway obstruction in the oropharynx. The goal of its development was to create an intermediate form of airway management face mask and endotracheal tube. Indication for its use includes any procedure that would normally involve the use of a face mask. The laryngeal mask airway was designed as a new concept in airway management and has been gaining a firm position in anesthetic practice. Despite wide spread use the definitive role of the laryngeal mask airway is yet to be established. In some situations, such as after failed tracheal intubation or in oral surgery its use is controversial. There are several unresolved issues, for example the effect of the laryngeal mask on regurgitation and whether or not cricoids pressure prevents placement of mask. We review the techniques of insertion, details of misplacement, and complications associated with use of the laryngeal mask. We then attempt to clarify the role of laryngeal mask in air way management during anesthesia, discussing the advantages and disadvantages as well as indications and contraindications of its use in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Airway Management ; Airway Obstruction ; Anesthesia ; Beauty ; Intubation ; Laryngeal Masks ; Larynx ; Masks* ; Neck ; Oropharynx ; Pharynx ; Surgery, Oral

Compression of the airway is relatively common in pediatric patients, although it is often an unrecognized complication of congenital cardiac and aortic arch anomalies. Aortopexy has been established as a surgical treatment for tracheobronchial obstruction associated with vascular anomaly, aortic arch anomaly, esophageal atresia, and tracheoesophageal fistula. The tissue-to-tissue arch repair technique could result in severe airway complication such as compression of the left main bronchus which was not a problem before the correction. We report three cases of corrective open heart surgery monitored by intraoperative bronchoscopy performed during prebypass, and performed immediately before weaning from bypass, to evaluate tracheobronchial obstruction caused by congenital, complex cardiac anomalies in the operating room.
Airway Obstruction* ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Aortic Coarctation ; Bronchi ; Bronchoscopy* ; Esophageal Atresia ; Humans ; Operating Rooms ; Thoracic Surgery ; Tracheoesophageal Fistula ; Weaning

BACKGROUNDIn China, tracheobronchial foreign body (TFB) aspiration, a major cause of emergency episode and accident death in children, remains a challenge for anesthetic management. Here, we share our experience and discuss the anesthetic consideration and management of patients with TFB aspiration.

METHODSThis was a single-institution retrospective study in children with an inhaled foreign body between 1991 and 2010 that focused on the complications following rigid bronchoscopy (RB). Data including the clinical characteristics of patients and TFB, anesthetic method, and postoperative severe complications were analyzed by different periods.

RESULTSDuring the 20-year study period, the charts of 3149 patients who underwent RB for suspected inhaled TFB were reviewed. There were 2079 male and 1070 female patients (1.94:1). A nut (84%) was the most commonly inhaled object. The study revealed a 9% (n = 284) overall rate of severe postoperative complications related to severe hypoxemia, laryngeal edema, complete laryngospasm, pneumothorax, total segmental atelectasis, and death with incidences of 3.2%, 0.9%, 1.3%, 0.3%, 0.3%, and 0.1%, respectively. The rates of preoperative airway impairment, negative findings of TFB, and adverse postoperative events have been on the rise in the past 5 years.

CONCLUSIONSThe survey results confirmed that hypoxemia remains the most common postoperative complication in different periods. Both controlled ventilation and spontaneous ventilation were effective during the RB extraction of the foreign body at our hospital in the modern technique period. An active respiratory symptom was commonly seen in the groups with negative findings.

Airway Obstruction ; complications ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; surgery ; Bronchoscopy ; adverse effects ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Acute laryngeal obstruction is one of the most common diseases in Department of ENT, and it can cause suffocation without prompt treatment. Methods by using Nasopharyngofiberoscope guided tracheal intubation treatment of a case of acute laryngeal obstruction patients in a timely manner. This method is well tolerated, less trauma, high success rate, in the shortest time to improve the patient's ventilation, for the next step of the treatment to win the time.
Airway Obstruction ; surgery ; Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Larynx ; physiopathology