Posterior glottic stenosis in children.

The management of posterior glottic stenosis resulting from impaired crico-arytenoid joint (CAJ) mobility in infants and children presents a perplexing and frequently unrewarding surgical dilemma; any improvement in the airway is almost invariably at the expense of the voice. Progress in this area has been hampered not only by the rarity of cases, but also by the technical difficulty of achieving an accurate diagnosis at endoscopy. In order to address this problem we have undertaken a retrospective analysis of 35 infants and children, treated at Great Ormond Street between 1980 and 1991, with endoscopically confirmed impairment of CAJ mobility. Five cases of mild posterior glottic stenosis were successfully treated either conservatively or by laser scar division. Thirty cases of moderate or severe stenosis were identified, and 19 of these have undergone corrective surgery. Of these 19, 17 had a prior tracheostomy, and 12 have been decannulated. No problems with aspiration were encountered but five (i.e. 25%) of those treated surgically suffered a deterioration of voice quality.