Bronchoscopic balloon dilatation combined with laser cauterization of high and long segmental tracheal stenosis secondary to endobronchial tuberculosis: A case report

BACKGROUND: Airway stenosis after bronchial tuberculosis may reduce the patient's activities of daily living owing to various respiratory symptoms. Thus, it is necessary to treat the condition. Various treatment modalities, such as balloon dilatation, are attempted in cases where radical surgical resection is difficult to perform; however, the best treatment method remains unknown. Although balloon dilatation is relatively easy to perform and effective, there are not many cases reporting successful treatment of tracheal stenosis as compared to that of bronchial stenosis. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case involving a 63-year-old man who presented with dyspnea on effort and stridor for 6 months. He was diagnosed with bronchotracheal stenosis due to endobronchial tuberculosis. A chest computed tomography scan showed thickening of the tracheal lumen and deformation of the tracheal cartilage from the annular cartilage to the middle trachea, and severe stenosis in the left main bronchus. Good patency of the trachea and the left main bronchus was obtained after two rounds of balloon dilatation with laser cauterization, which resulted in improvement of symptoms over a relatively long period. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that balloon dilatation combined with laser cauterization can be easily repeated and may be effective for treatment of patients with bronchotracheal stenosis, wherein radical treatment cannot be performed.