Evaluation of epiglottoplasty as treatment for severe laryngomalacia

Six patients with severe laryngomalacia underwent epiglottoplasty. Four of these patients had life-threatening episodes of airway obstruction before surgery; of these, two had required tracheal intubation and one had required cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Two patients had failure to thrive and two had cor pulmonale. Patients had required a mean of two hospitalizations related to upper airway obstruction. We performed polysomnography during a daytime nap, both before and after epiglottoplasty, in all patients. Respiratory effort, arterial oxygen saturation, and end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure were monitored with continuous electrocardiograms and electrooculograms. All patients had abnormal polysomnograms preoperatively. Six patients had obstructive apnea, four had hypoxemia (arterial oxygen saturation less than 90% while breathing room air), and four had hypoventilation (end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure greater than 45 mm Hg) before epiglottoplasty. Mean age (+/- SEM) at epiglottoplasty was 10.3 +/- 5.3 months. No patients had surgical complications. An endotracheal tube was in place for 25 +/- 7 hours postoperatively, and patients were discharged 4 +/- 1 days postoperatively. Polysomnography performed 2.8 +/- 1.0 months after surgery showed that all patients had improved. Two patients had residual, mild episodes of obstructive apnea, and one patient had mild hypoventilation and desaturation. No patient had further life-threatening events or required further hospitalizations after epiglottoplasty. We conclude that epiglottoplasty is an effective and safe treatment for a selected group of patients with severe laryngomalacia.