Objective: To present 8-year follow-up outcomes, treatment of complications, and prognosis in children with
congenital tracheal stenosis after metallic airway
stent implantation. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical records of children who had airway
stents placed between May 20, 2011 and May 31, 2016, and on their follow-up records collected on November 31, 2019. Results: During the 8 years follow-up, 41 children underwent airway stenting under flexible bronchoscopy and participated in the follow-up investigation. There were 26 cases with left main bronchus (LMB)
stenosis (63.4%), 16 cases with
congenital tracheal stenosis (CTS, 39.0%), 12 cases with right main bronchus (RMB)
stenosis (29.3%), and 1 case of subglottic
stenosis (2.4%). A total of 76
stents were implanted, and 21 patients died after implantation. There were 34 children (82.9%) with
congenital heart disease (CHD), while other diseases accounted for <5%. Among children with CHD and those with other conditions, the number of death cases was 19 and 2, respectively; no significant differences were observed between the two groups (P>0.05). The most frequent complications were increased airway secretion (75.8%),
stent deformation (66.7%), and granulation tissue
hyperplasia (60.6%). The airway
stenosis (45.5%) and
stent migration (12.1%) occurred at a moderate rate. The less common complications were airway softening (6.1%), and
stent breakage (6.1%). Conclusions: The placement and removal of the metallic
stent are convenient and quick procedures that can relieve the symptoms of
dyspnea caused by airway
stenosis in the case of an emergency. After
stent implantation, the primary disease should be actively treated, and the
stent should be removed as soon as possible after the cause of airway
stenosis is successfully removed. Larger
stents are more likely to cause complications; thus, a good follow-up system should be established to timely address all the complications.