Characterizing the Patient Experience of Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis in Pregnancy.

Objective: To characterize surgical interventions in pregnancy and postpartum periods and compare them to baseline periods (outside of pregnancy/postpartum) for patients with idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS).

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for patients undergoing endoscopic treatment for iSGS during pregnancy, postpartum, and baseline periods at The Cleveland Clinic between July 1, 2000 and January 1, 2025. Data collected included disease characteristics, surgery characteristics, and pregnancy history. The primary endpoint was the surgical interval between surgical interventions, defined as the number of days until the following surgical intervention during pregnancy, postpartum, and baseline periods.

Results: Nine patients were included in the analysis. Among these patients, there were 17 term deliveries, 1 pre-term delivery, 2 miscarriages, and 2 terminations. There was no statistically significant difference in the surgical interval for patients undergoing surgery during pregnancy when compared to their surgical interval in the one-year postpartum period (p = 0.69) or when compared to the same patients' baseline surgical interval (p = 0.69). Four patients (45%) experienced more surgical interventions following a pregnancy as compared to before pregnancy.

Conclusion: Surgical management of iSGS is safe during pregnancy, and although we observed no significant difference in the surgical interval during pregnancy, postpartum, and baseline periods, four patients did require more surgical interventions after pregnancy, highlighting the importance of counseling patients on the potential risk of iSGS recurrence after pregnancy and closely monitoring these patients during the postpartum period.

Level of evidence: IV.