Anterior cricoid split for subglottic stenosis: experience at the Children's Hospital of New Jersey.

Twenty-five children with acquired and congenital subglottic stenosis (SGS) were managed with the anterior cricoid split (ACS) operation at the authors' institution from September 1987 to January 1990. Ages ranged from 2.5 months to 5.5 years. Twenty-one (84%) of the children were extubated after 5 to 14 days of nasotracheal intubation and have remained stable after an average follow-up of 10 months. Atelectasis was a common postoperative problem, encountered in 12 (48%) of the patients. Other complications included a tracheocutaneous fistula, prolapse of soft tissue into the tracheal lumen via the cricoid incision, a subglottic granuloma, and 2 cases of prolonged lower extremity paresis following reversal of vecuronium. The results of this retrospective study indicate that the ACS is a valuable first-line procedure for the management of SGS in a variety of pediatric patients.