The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2013 , Vol 55 , Num 5
Laryngomalacia: patient outcomes following aryepiglottoplasty at a tertiary care center
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
E-mail: nildasuslu@yahoo.com
Laryngomalacia is the most common cause of stridor in neonates and infants.
Most cases are mild and resolve spontaneously without treatment. Only severe
cases with intolerable symptoms require surgical intervention; in such cases,
supraglottoplasty is considered the treatment of choice. The aim of this study
was to review and present the outcomes in patients with laryngomalacia who
underwent aryepiglottoplasty-a type of supraglottoplasty. The medical records
of children diagnosed as laryngomalacia who were followed up at Hacettepe
University Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, between 2007 and
2012 were reviewed retrospectively. The study included 16 children who
required surgical intervention. The mean age of the 16 children included in
the study was 133 days (range: 7 days-48 months). Among the patients, 9
(56%) were male and 7 (44%) were female. In all, 7 patients (44%) had a
comorbid condition. Laryngomalacia diagnoses were as follows: type I: n = 2,
13%; type II: n = 13, 81%; type III: n= 1, 6%. Stridor completely resolved in
10 of the children who underwent aryepiglottoplasty. Three patients required
tracheotomy and 3 required revision supraglottoplasty; these six cases were
considered as failed surgical treatment. The aryepiglottoplasty success rate
was 63%. None of the patients had any intraoperative or postoperative
complications. Despite the primarily benign nature of laryngomalacia, comorbid
conditions can exacerbate symptoms and negatively affect the prognosis.
Aryepiglottoplasty can be performed with high success and low complication
rates in properly selected patients.
Keywords :
laryngomalacia, supraglottoplasty, aryepiglottoplasty.