OBJECTIVE: The use of airway stents in the pediatric population is uncommon, reflected in the few patient series reported in the literature. We describe a fatal complication of tracheal stent placement in an 18-month-old child with spondylothoracic dysplasia. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Intensive care unit of a tertiary academic pediatric center. PATIENT: An 18-month-old child with spondylothoracic dysplasia who underwent tracheal stent placement for tracheomalacia. INTERVENTIONS: Management of an acute upper-airway hemorrhage. MAIN RESULTS: The patient died, despite aggressive interventions. CONCLUSION: Use of tracheal stents in pediatric patients with tracheomalacia is not without risks; tracheal erosion with severe hemoptysis is an infrequent but devastating complication of this intervention.
OBJECTIVE: The use of airway stents in the pediatric population is uncommon, reflected in the few patient series reported in the literature. We describe a fatal complication of tracheal stent placement in an 18-month-old child with spondylothoracic dysplasia. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Intensive care unit of a tertiary academic pediatric center. PATIENT: An 18-month-old child with spondylothoracic dysplasia who underwent tracheal stent placement for tracheomalacia. INTERVENTIONS: Management of an acute upper-airway hemorrhage. MAIN RESULTS: The patient died, despite aggressive interventions. CONCLUSION: Use of tracheal stents in pediatric patients with tracheomalacia is not without risks; tracheal erosion with severe hemoptysis is an infrequent but devastating complication of this intervention.