Treatment of canine nasopharyngeal stenosis using balloon‐expandable metallic stents: long‐term follow‐up of four cases

Abstract

Four dogs were diagnosed with nasopharyngeal stenosis using endoscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. Treatment using balloon-expandable metallic stent, placed under fluoroscopic and endoscopic guidance, resulted in immediate resolution of clinical signs. All dogs were clinically normal 40 to 62 months following stent placement.

Successful treatment of a dog with recurrent nasopharyngeal stenosis using balloon dilation and a novel topical mitomycin delivery system

“…Nasopharyngeal stenosis is a rare, congenital or acquired condition in which the nasopharynx caudal to the choanae is narrowed or obliterated, resulting in upper respiratory tract infection and obstruction 1. Underlying aetiologies of acquired nasopharyngeal stenosis include chronic or aspiration rhinitis, surgery, trauma or a space‐occupying mass 2 3.…”

“…Underlying aetiologies of acquired nasopharyngeal stenosis include chronic or aspiration rhinitis, surgery, trauma or a space‐occupying mass 2 3. Treatments include balloon dilation,4 5 surgical resection6 or placement of an expandable stent across the area1–3; however, such treatments can result in recurrent stenosis, infection or other complications such as palatal erosion and oronasal fistulation 1–5 7. Topical mitomycin has been used as part of a treatment regimen for nasopharyngeal stenosis in a dog,2 4 a cria8 and in human beings,9 and bilateral choanal atresia in a foal,10 and for prevention of experimentally induced glottic stenosis in dogs 11.…”