| Abstract [eng] |
Objective To evaluate the role and possibilities of endobronchial procedures during the treatment of stenosis of trachea and large bronchi. Patients and methods At the department of thoracic surgery and oncology, Institute of oncology, Vilnius university, from 2005 to 2009 there were performed 68 endobronchial procedures of trachea and large bronchi for patients suffering from airway stenosis: 28 (41 %) airway stenting, 3 (4.4 %) airway tamponade because of sudden bleeding and life threatening risk, 35 (51 %) endobronchial tumour resection and recanalisation of lumen, 2 (3.6 %) foreign body removed from the airway. The mean of age patients was 63 years. There were 50 (73.5 %) males and 18 (26.5 %) females. 33 (48.5 %) patients had lung cancer. Results Stenosis of large bronchi and trachea lumen was due to several reasons: in 33 (48.5 %) patients it was lung cancer, in 23 (33.8 %) patients – metastases from other malignant diseases or penetration from adjacent organs (testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, lymphoma, renal cancer, tracheal cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer), in 12 (17.7 %) patients – for non- malignant reasons (benign tracheal disease, tuberculosis, benign lung disease, benign mediastinal disease, foreign body). For 35 patients, airway recanalisation was achieved by endobronchial tumour resection: 3 (8.6 %) patients – trachea, 32 (91.4 %) patients – large bronchi. For 28 patients, endobronchial turmour resection and airway stenting were performed: for 8 (28.5 %) patients a stent was placed in large bronchi, 8 (28.5 %) patients in the trachea, and 12 (43 %) patients were treated by placing “Y” stent at the tracheobronchial junction. For 33 (48.5 %) patients, endobronchial interventions were performed due to lung cancer After tumour resection, in 12 (37 %) patients squamous cell carcinoma, in 2 (6 %) patients non-small cell lung cancer, in 5 (15 %) patients adenocarcinoma, in 4 (12 %) patients small cell carcinoma, in 4 (12 %) patients atypic carcinoid were diagnosed, in 6 (18%) patients the morphologic diagnosis was not confirmed because of tumour necrosis and a large fibrin layer. 3 (4.4 %) patients died after the intervention. After interventions, 65 (95.6 %) patients felt improvement of the quality of life, shortness of breath and stridor disappeared. 25 (37 %) patients during the early postoperative period needed additional interventions: for 2 patients correction of the stent position was perfomed, 23 patients required further bronchoscopies to evacuate secretion. Conclusion Endobronchial intervention due to inferior airway stenosis is a safe and reliable method of palliative treatment when radical treatment is not possible because of poor condition, comorbidity or advanced age. |
