Endoscopic Nd:YAG laser therapy of infantile subglottic hemangioma.

Of the many therapeutic modalities that have been developed for infantile subglottic hemangioma (ISH), the most common technique is endoscopic excision with carbon dioxide laser, used alone or combined with other therapeutic techniques. A staged procedure has been proposed as the preferred choice for patients with severe airway obstruction. Nevertheless, ever since the neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser was developed, this modality has been considered feasible to treat vascular tumor in the airway due to good hemostasis power. We present two cases of ISH with severe airway obstruction that underwent endoscopic surgery using an one-stage Nd:YAG laser approach. Details of the laser characteristics and surgery techniques are described in this article. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.