Pediatric airway reconstruction at Great Ormond Street: a ten-year review. III. Decannulation and suprastomal collapse.

One hundred eight consecutive patients with pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis requiring airway reconstruction over a 10-year period were reviewed. Ninety (83%) of the patients were decannulated. Over three quarters of the decannulations took place within 20 months of primary reconstruction. More than half of the patients (47, or 52%) had persistent tracheocutaneous fistulae after decannulation, which required elective closure. The likelihood of a persisting tracheocutaneous fistula is directly related to duration of cannulation.