Stenting the nasopharyngeal isthmus by nasopharyngeal airway after correction of acquired total nasopharyngeal obstruction: surgical procedure and results

Abstract

The objective of this study is to describe a simple surgical procedure for management of acquired total nasopharyngeal obstruction in adults. Five patients were diagnosed as having complete nasopharyngeal obstruction over a 3-year period. Three patients previously underwent uvulopalatoplasty, while for the remaining two it was due to pharyngoscleroma. In all the patients, nasopharyngeal obstruction was at the level of the inferior edge of the soft palate. Two of the post-uvulopalatoplasty patients had recurrent obstruction after scar excision and topical application of mitomycin-C without stenting. All the patients were treated surgically by creation of a new anatomical nasopharyngeal isthmus and stenting it by nasopharyngeal airway for 6 months. All the patients experienced satisfactory results and good tolerability to airway placement. The nasopharyngeal airway can counteract the inevitable scar contraction of the new nasopharyngeal isthmus after surgical correction and maintain its patency.