Laryngotracheal stenosis: Mechanistic review.

Abstract

BackgroundThe purpose of this review article is to summarize the existing literature surrounding wound healing mechanisms in laryngotracheal stenosis.MethodsA review of general wound healing pathophysiology, followed by a focused review of iatrogenic laryngotracheal stenosis (iLTS) and idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) as conditions of aberrant wound healing.ResultsiLTS is the scarring of the laryngotracheal complex, coming secondary to injury from prolonged intubation. iSGS is a chronic fibroinflammatory scarring and narrowing of the subglottic airway in the absence of any obvious preceding injury or trauma. They are both thought to result from a prolonged and dysregulated wound healing response that promotes the deposition of pathologic scar in the airway.ConclusionsUnderstanding the mechanisms that underlie wound healing will help identify and intervene on the process early in its development and discover future therapies that target individual wound healing mechanisms limiting the incidence of this recalcitrant disease process.