Adult Supraglottic Stenosis: Etiology and Management

Abstract

Supraglottic stenosis is a rare entity, which is more common in females, and trauma is the most common cause for it. Dysphagia, dysphonia, dyspnea and stridor are the common symptoms of supraglottic stenosis. Non-symptomatic cases can be managed by observation, and symp-tomatic cases with sever airway obstruction may need a tracheostomy; some cases may need nasogastric tube to relieve dysphagia. Endoscopic approach using carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is the most common procedure used to treat supraglottic stenosis, supraglottic laryngectomy is only indicated for severe supraglottic stenosis. Supraglottic stenosis has high rate of recurrence and may need multiple surgical procedures. Supraglottic stenosis has a better prognosis than glottis and subglottic stenosis with successful treatment rate up to 83%. This is a short discus-sion about supraglottic stenosis found in literatures; the objective of this study is to present a brief review about this disease.