Pediatric Laryngotracheal Reconstruction, An Issue of Otolaryngologic Clinics

The management of the obstructed pediatric airway continues to be a great responsibility and challenge for otolaryngologists. It is one aspect of our field for which our expertise is universally recognized by medical practitioners outside our specialty and is likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. The last 30 years has seen a revolution in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of a wide variety of congenital and acquired laryngeal and tracheal pathology in children. This has been driven in part by the creativity of our colleagues in devising more consistently reproducible and reliable surgical techniques. It has also been spurred by the advances in the medical and surgical treatments of premature and medically complex children, who now require our care as the last step in getting their airway issues resolved prior to their discharge form the intensive care setting. This edition of the Otolaryngology Clinics of North America, written by some of the most experienced practitioners of pediatric airway management in the world, is devoted to the describing the best practices in the treatment of these difficult problems.