Endoscopic laser for severe laryngomalacia

Abstract

Stridor in the pediatric age group needs detailed evaluation. Laryngomalacia, the commonest cause of stridor is mostly benign, but in about 10% patients can be an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Laser surgical correction in patients with severe laryngomalacia gives good results. We evaluated 32 patients of stridor. All were screened with fibreoptic laryngoscopy and whenever indicated, direct endoscopy was carried out. 13 (40%) of the patients had laryngomalacia. Of these, 8 had severe laryngomalacia and underwent treatment with diode laser. All of them showed definite post procedure improvement.