Oropharyngeal Stenosis

Abstract

Oropharyngeal stenosis is a potential complication of multilevel, single-stage upper airway surgery involving lingual tonsillectomy in children. Although there is pressure to perform multilevel procedures that address each site of upper airway obstruction in 1 sitting, this case series suggests the need for a more conservative, staged approach if lingual tonsillectomy is planned.

Oropharyngeal Stenosis After Intracapsular Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy With Literature Review

“…Multilevel surgery is considered a risk factor due to the opposing wound surfaces, which promote scar banding and stenosis formation. 1,2 In our patient, direct injury to the posterior oropharyngeal wall or possibly a high-power setting of monopolar coagulation may have contributed to scar formation and subsequent contraction. The rapid development of the stenosis and mild symptoms despite severe obstruction are noteworthy.…”

“…A review and summary of published case reports on oropharyngeal stenosis is presented in Supporting Information Table S1. Oropharyngeal stenoses have been reported following tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy, tongue base surgery, and multilevel airway surgery 1–5 . Our patient underwent an intracapsular tonsillectomy with adenoidectomy.…”

“…Aggressive surgery and infections have been implicated in the development of nasopharyngeal stenosis. Multilevel surgery is considered a risk factor due to the opposing wound surfaces, which promote scar banding and stenosis formation 1,2 . In our patient, direct injury to the posterior oropharyngeal wall or possibly a high‐power setting of monopolar coagulation may have contributed to scar formation and subsequent contraction.…”

“…Oropharyngeal stenoses have been reported following tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy, tongue base surgery, and multilevel airway surgery. [1][2][3][4][5] Our patient underwent an intracapsular tonsillectomy with adenoidectomy. To our knowledge, stenosis after partial removal of the tonsils has not been described previously.…”

Diagnostic Value of Lingual Tonsillectomy in Unknown Primary Head and Neck Carcinoma Identification After a Negative Clinical Workup and Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography

“…Lingual tonsillectomy was performed either during the standard staging laryngoscopy (7/16) or as a secondary procedure (9/16) with 8 patients receiving bilateral LT. Unilateral LT was performed in patients undergoing concurrent palatine tonsillectomy and was intended to minimize the small theoretical risk of oropharyngeal stenosis resulting from circumferential denuding of mucosa ( 20 ). Seven patients had their palatine tonsils removed for unrelated reasons before their current presentation.…”