Bilateral Bronchus Suis Tracheoplasty

Abstract

Complex tracheal anomalies are life threatening without intervention and often require surgery in the neonatal period to establish a stable airway. Variations of slide tracheoplasty using all autologous tissue are the gold standard in tracheal reconstruction. We have encountered 9 patients whose complex tracheal anomalies required significant variations to slide tracheoplasty. Six of these patients presented with bronchus suis with extreme long segment tracheobronchial stenosis which were effectively repaired using a side-to-side bronchus suis tracheobronchoplasty. This technique has the advantage of providing an all-autologous reconstruction with significantly less tension. Recently, we have encountered 3 patients with even more radical anatomies consisting of long segment tracheobronchial stenosis in the context of bilateral bronchus suis or Christmas-tree trachea. We employed bilateral side-to-side bronchus suis tracheoplasty in one and anterior-posterior bilateral bronchus suis tracheoplasty in the remaining 2 cases. These techniques have proven extremely effective in stabilizing the airway while preserving growth potential. Early management of these patients remains challenging, and complications are exponentially magnified by the interplay between complex cardiac physiology and complex tracheal reconstruction.