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Long-term Results

Gary D. Josephson, MD; Christopher L. Vickery, MD; William C. Giles, MD; Charles W. Gross, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1998;124:537-540.

Objective  To evaluate the short- and long-term success of the repair of congenital choanal atresia using the transnasal endoscopic approach with and without power instruments.

Design and Setting  Retrospective case series in a tertiary care center.

Patients  Fifteen patients with either unilateral or bilateral congenital choanal atresia were treated using the transnasal endoscopic approach. Postoperative stenting was used in all 15 patients.

Interventions  The senior surgeon (C.W.G.) currently uses the transnasal endoscopic drill-out technique. We describe our experience and long-term follow-up of 15 patients (9 with unilateral atresia, 5 with bilateral atresia, and 1 with unilateral stenosis) who were treated with the use of the transnasal endoscopic technique during a 7-year period. In 8 patients, the transnasal endoscopic technique was performed using conventional biting instruments, and in 7 patients, the transnasal endoscopic technique with power instruments was used.

Main Outcome Measure  The patency of the surgical repair of congenital choanal atresia by the transnasal endoscopic approach.

Results  Of 14 patient procedures, 12 remained patent. One patient required minor debridement of granulation tissue 1 week following stent removal, and 1 patient required surgical transnasal revision 2 months after the primary procedure, with a patent result after the second procedure. Despite patent choanae being achieved, 1 patient died of cardiac anomalies 8 months after the atresia repair.

Conclusions  The transnasal endoscopic route offers excellent visualization of the posterior choana and, hence, the ability to open the defect widely with a high surgical success rate. Newer powered instrumentation further enhances the ability to perform this technique cleanly.

From the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville. Dr Josephson is now with the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Miami Medical Center, Miami, Fla.

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