Our experience in treating obstructive lesions of the main airway by Nd-Yag laser resection

We performed 164 laser resections with a neodymiumyttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd-Yag) laser in 116 patients between January 1992 and December 1997. Seventy-eight patients had malignant neoplasms, 5 had neoplasms of intermediate malignancy and 33 had inflammatory tracheal lesions. Eighteen resections were emergency procedures. All resections were performed with the patient under general anesthesia and preferably breathing spontaneously. Immediate results varied according to the nature and location of the lesion. Treatment was palliative for tumors showing intraluminal proliferation, providing successful reopening of the airway as shown endoscopically in 70% of patients. Mean survival of the 44 patients with malignant lesions who could be followed was 29 weeks, with a median of 15.19 (range, 1-120). The tracheas of patients with inflammatory stenosis were reopened rapidly and emergency tracheostomy was avoided in all cases. One patient with malignant tracheal tumors died during the procedure due to asphyxia related to tracheal hemorrhage.