Modified stent for the treatment of tracheomegaly combined with a tracheoesophageal fistula: a case report

Ya-Fang Wang, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine; Regional Medical Center for National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine; Cancer Center. Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
En-Guo Chen, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine; Regional Medical Center for National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine; Cancer Center. Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Tracheoesophageal fistulas (TEFs) are common in clinical practice and we address them in different ways according to their etiologies. Herein, we present a case of tracheomegaly combined with a TEF after long-term tracheotomy. We placed a modified silicone stent into the trachea to simultaneously cover the fistula and maintain an artificial airway for ventilation. After migration of the modified stent, we replaced it with a prolonged tracheotomy tube. This modified stent is a novel clinical attempt at addressing TEFs that should be more thoroughly explored.

Palabras clave: Modified stent. Silicone stent. Tracheomegaly. Tracheoesophageal fistula.