Management of subglottic hemangiomas with carbon dioxide laser: Our 25-year experience and comparison with the literature

Abstract

IntroductionSubglottic hemangiomas (SGH) are rare tumors of infancy arising between the perichondrium and the mucosa of the subglottic space. It is a potential life-threatening condition. Many therapeutic options exist for this disease, including lasers. ObjectiveTo report our 25-year experience of laser treatment of SGH. Material and methodsRetrospective review of charts. SettingClarós’ Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Clinic in Barcelona, Spain. ResultsWe recruited a total of 97 patients of whom 89 were treated with CO2 laser. Mean age at first contact was 2.1 months (range: 1.5–6.5). Sex ratio was 10 girls for 1 boy. Eighty percent of patients presented with stridor and 30.3% with recurrent acute laryngitis. Forty percent had associated cutaneous hemangiomas. They received an average of 1.85 laser session (range: 1–4) and 78.5% were healed after a maximum of 2. We had a 100% success rate and 1.1% complication rate (subglottic stenosis). ConclusionCO2 laser is a very effective and recommendable tool against subglottic hemangiomas. To achieve good results traditional laser safety measures should be respected besides some useful surgical tips.