Clinical implications of differentiating between types of post- tracheostomy tracheal stenosis

Tracheal stenosis following tracheostomy is a well-established type of acquired benign stenosis in critically ill patients (1,2). Post-tracheostomy tracheal stenosis (PTTS) occurs in approximately 1–2% of patients as a late complication of tracheostomy (3,4). Although tracheal resection and end-to-end anastomosis is the treatment of choice for this type of lesion, postoperative complications were significantly increased in association with poor general health and comorbidities (5,6). Interventional bronchoscopy is an acceptable alternative to surgery for many inoperable patients, considering the high comorbidities of patients with PTTS (7,8)