Postintubation tracheal stenosis 35 years after neonatal resuscitation

INTRODUCTION: Postintubation tracheal stenosis involves granulation or cicatrization of the tracheal epithelium. It is progressive and can become life-threatening within a few months after extubation. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We here report a case of tracheal stenosis with a delayed manifestation, presenting 35 years after endotracheal intubation for neonatal resuscitation. A female patient complained of dyspnea during pregnancy. Bronchoscopy revealed 75% constriction of the tracheal lumen by cicatrization, from the 2nd to 4th tracheal rings. After child-birth, the scar tissue was ablated using argon plasma coagulation. DISCUSSION: The patient had no significant medical history, such as severe airway infection or cervical/chest trauma, which might have caused the circumferential cicatricial tracheal stenosis, other than the endotracheal intubation she had undergone for neonatal resuscitation. Therefore, we considered this to reflect postintubation tracheal stenosis with delayed manifestation. CONCLUSION: Delayed postintubation tracheal stenosis should be taken into consideration, when a patient suffers from suffocating tracheal stenosis.