Stents, T tubes, and springs: The use of devices in airway reconstruction

Stenosis of the glottis, subglottis, and cervical trachea are challenging entities plagued by frequent recurrences of stenosis regardless of the site involved. Since the earliest airway surgeries, there have been attempts to create various devices to keep the reconstructed airway open. In the modern era, these are most commonly silicone stents, T tubes, and keels. Additional modifications of these procedures, including the new interarytenoid spring, and novel methods, like the use of a sutured silastic sheet to stage posterior glottic stenosis repair, have also been published. The success rates of these devices vary widely and study populations are small, but these devices play an important role in maintaining patency in both transcervical and endoscopic approaches to airway reconstruction.