Complications of metallic stents in the pediatric airway.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to present our experience with complications caused by placement of metallic stents in the pediatric airway.

DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a retrospective study of the medical records of patients with complications resulting from metallic stent placement, managed by the senior authors between 1993 and 2002.

RESULTS: Nine children had complications associated with the placement of metallic airway stents. Of these, 8 children required stent removal. Granulation tissue and tracheal stenosis were seen in all 7 children with long standing stent placement. There was 1 stent death in this series.

CONCLUSIONS: Metallic airway stents can cause significant complications in the pediatric airway. These complications may supersede the airway compromise that necessitated their initial placement. As such, metallic stent placement should be approached with caution. The likelihood and severity of complications increase with time, as do the difficulties encountered upon removal. The proportion of patients in whom metallic stents may be placed "permanently" without complications is not known. Therefore we recommend that metallic airway stents be considered a temporizing measure of limited duration.