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Airway obstruction is a rather common condition in children and can be caused by a variety of factors ranging from congenital malormation to acquired viral syndromes. Because a child's airway is relatively narrow, obstruction can be life threatening.
The Division of Thoracic Surgery at Mass General Hospital has one of the largest experiences in the world in primary resection and reconstruction for pediatric airway problems.
The vast majority of children respond well to standard tracheal resections and reconstructions. Tracheal resections remove part of the trachea and reconstructions are the surgical processes that rebuild the trachea.
Slide Tracheoplasty
For newborns, slide tracheoplasty has been a great addition to the methods of dealing with airway problems in congenital tracheal stenosis patients.
Slide tracheoplasty use the patient's own tracheal tissues to reconstruct the trachea. Doing this offers the advantage of potentially avoiding bypass surgery as well as earlier removal of the trachael tube.
-- Douglas J. Mathisen, M.D.
Return to Tracheal Surgery
See selected references by
thoracic surgeons at MGH |
