Partial Cricotracheal Resection

Partial Cricotracheal Resection

A partial cricotracheal resection is for patients who have a short section of scarring at the level of the cricoid (the ring of cartilage around the trachea)and the tracheal segment immediately below it. This complex surgery involves removing a scarred portion of the airway and reconnecting the healthy ends.

The procedure may take anywhere from two to six hours and your child leaves the operating room with a breathing tube or T-tube stent in place (no tracheostomy tube). Following the surgery, your child's neck must be immobilized in a flexed position for one to two weeks.

The child returns to the operating room for a microlaryngoscopy bronchoscopy approximately one week after the surgery to evaluate the healing process. The total length of the hospital stay will depend on your child's healing process, but is typically two to four weeks in the ICU.

  • Surgeons Describe Partial Cricotracheal Resection (CTR)

    Ian N. Jacobs, MD: Potential surgery we may do for the more advanced cases of stenosis is known as cricotracheal resection, or CTR. 

    Karen B. Zur, MD: The cricotracheal resection is when you're actually removing a diseased portion of the airway and then reconnecting two healthy portions.

    Ian N. Jacobs, MD: That involves cutting out the scarred portion of the airway or the larynx and moving up normal trachea to replace it.

    Karen B. Zur, MD: So we have to make sure before committing to performing a cricotracheal resection that we have enough space below the vocal cords to accommodate that suturing of the trachea to the voice box.

    Ian N. Jacobs, MD: It's a more involved operation, which is not done as commonly as LTR. But it can treat the most severe cases of subglottic stenosis and tracheal stenosis with outstanding results.
Transcript Transcript

Subglottic stenosis shown before and after partial cricotracheal resection.