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Drainage of the tracheal blind pouch created by laryngotracheal separation

European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology volume 266, pages 1279–1283 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Laryngotracheal separation is a simple and reliable operation for the treatment of patients with repetitive and intractable aspiration; however, it is apprehended that pooling in the tracheal blind pouch may cause postoperative complications. In the present study, we examined drainage of the blind pouch created by laryngotracheal separation. Fourteen patients aged 3–63 years with repetitive aspiration pneumonia underwent laryngotracheal separation by the modified Lindeman procedure. A barium swallow was performed 10–30 days after surgery. X-rays of the lateral view of the neck were taken at 6 and 24 h after the swallow, and then every 24 h until the contrast medium cleared. The contrast medium in the blind pouch cleared within 24 h in nine patients. In the remaining five, the clearance time was ≤48 and ≤72 h in two patients each, and 96 h in one patient. The clearance time in patients aged under 20 years was ≤24 h, while middle-aged to elderly patients showed prolonged clearance time. No late complications of the blind pouch, such as infections, were observed. The potential risk of complications caused by pooling in the tracheal blind pouch in laryngotracheal separation is prevented presumably due to the slow but continuous turnover of pooling material. This result supports the validity and usefulness of laryngotracheal separation for the treatment of intractable aspiration.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare that there is no conflict of interests as to the manuscript entitled “Drainage of the tracheal blind pouch created by laryngotracheal separation”.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555, Japan

    Hideaki Suzuki, Nobuaki Hiraki, Toyoaki Ohbuchi, Minori Shibata & Koichi Hashida

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Kitakyushu Rehabilitation Center for Children with Disabilities, Kitakyushu, Japan

    Chie Murakami, Seiko Suzuki & Akiko Takada

  3. Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan

    Masayuki Shimono

Authors
  1. Hideaki Suzuki
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  2. Nobuaki Hiraki
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  3. Chie Murakami
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  4. Seiko Suzuki
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  5. Akiko Takada
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  6. Toyoaki Ohbuchi
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  7. Minori Shibata
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  8. Koichi Hashida
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  9. Masayuki Shimono
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Correspondence to Hideaki Suzuki.

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Suzuki, H., Hiraki, N., Murakami, C. et al. Drainage of the tracheal blind pouch created by laryngotracheal separation. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 266, 1279–1283 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-0942-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-0942-7

Keywords

  • Laryngotracheal separation
  • Aspiration pneumonia
  • Tracheal blind pouch
  • Barium swallow
  • Contrast medium
  • Drainage