Introduction
Endoluminal airway stenting in children remains a controversial topic.
Whilst airway stenting in adults is a well established practice with
wide consensus, in pediatric patients it is still far from achieving
this goal (1,2). Albeit increasing experience with endoscopic stenting
in the pediatric age group, there is lack of agreement regarding
indications, risks, and suitability of the different types of stents
when addressing tracheobronchial obstruction (3). The small size of an
infant“s airway and the limited availability of appropriate stents are
determinant issues in this particular setting. In 2016 our group
published a preliminary experience with a new biodegradable (BD) airway
stent made of polydioxanone (PDO) (4). Persuaded by our initial good
results, we continued using BD/PDO stents and even replacing other
types, metallic or plastic, that we have used until then (5). Currently,
PDO devices are our first choice when endoluminal stenting is considered
an option.
The primary aim of this study was to update our experience with this
type of BD stent focusing on clinical effectiveness and safety.
Secondary goal was to analyse the factors that could be involved in the
distinct outcomes observed.