Wegener’s granulomatosis: surgical repair of severe subglottic stenosis

Abstract

Laryngeal and subglottic stenosis are present in about 20% of patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis. This atypical form of the disease can be severe and life-threatening. In what concerns to treatment, subglottic lesions are less responsive to conventional systemic therapy and interventional and surgical procedures should be considered. The authors present a case of a 30-year-old woman with diagnosis of Wegener’s granulomatosis who presented to our department with dyspnea and stridor due to a severe subglottic stenosis, requiring an emergent tracheostomy. The obstructive defect was electively and effectively repaired through a transoral laser microsurgery using local application prednisolone and mitomycin C followed by balloon dilation.