Surgical management strategy of slide tracheoplasty for infants with congenital tracheal stenosis

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate the outcomes of slide tracheoplasty in infancy and identify predictors of adverse outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of infants aged less than 1 year with congenital tracheal stenosis who underwent slide tracheoplasty at a single center from April 2010 to September 2020. Results: Of 120 infants, 71.7%(86/120) had a pulmonary artery sling and 37.5%(45/ 120) had simultaneous intracardiac repairs. Additionally, 52.5% (63/120) of the patients had anomalous tracheobronchial arborization, and 17.5% (21/120) had diffuse tracheal stenosis. Six airway reoperations (5%) and 6 deaths (5%) occurred, and the mortality decreased annually. Multivariate analysis revealed that a low body weight, cardiovascular anomalies, and normal tracheobronchial arborization predicted a longer intubation duration. Univariate analysis revealed that a low body weight, preoperative invasive ventilation, a long cardiopulmonary bypass time, and granulation tissue were associated with death. After surgery, 26 patients had dysphagia, 24 of whom resumed oral feeding during follow-up. Ninety-two patients underwent chest computed tomography reexamination, and the trachea diameter had increased significantly from 2.32 +/- 0.72 mm to 5.46 +/- 1.24 mm. Nineteen and 29 patients underwent spirometry before and after surgery, respectively, and showed improvements in ventilation function, with the ratio of time to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory time and ratio of volume to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory volume values significantly improved from 19.80%(interquartile range, 16.9023.80) and 23.10% (interquartile range, 21.10-25.90) to 26.80% (interquartile range, 21.20-34.40) and 30.20% (interquartile range, 25.00-34.50), respectively (P<.05). Conclusions: A tailored individual management strategy of slide tracheoplasty in infancy facilitates favorable clinical outcomes. Close postoperative follow-up and long-term functional evaluations including clinical symptoms and pulmonary function are still needed.