Transnasal endoscopic treatment of choanal atresia without prolonged stenting

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the outcome of transnasal endoscopic repair of choanal atresia (CA) in children without prolonged nasal stenting after surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Academic tertiary care children's hospital. PATIENTS: Forty children aged 3 days to 15 years (mean age, 41 months) who presented with unilateral (n = 26) or bilateral (n = 14) CA and underwent surgery between August 1996 and December 1999. INTERVENTION: All children underwent transnasal endoscopy with telescopes, endoscopic instruments, and a microdebrider. Nasal tubes in neonates or infants and nasal packing in older children were always removed after 2 days. Systematic revision endoscopy was performed with the patients under local or general anesthesia on days 6 to 10. All patients were then clinically and endoscopically monitored for nasal obstruction and healing during a mean follow-up period of 18 months. RESULTS: There were 16 patients with associated malformations, including 6 cases of CHARGE association (a malformative syndrome that includes coloboma, heart disease, CA, retarded development, genital hypoplasia, and ear anomalies, including hypoplasia of the external ear and hearing loss), and 14 patients (9 with bilateral CA) with a history of previous choanal surgery (4 transnasal, 4 laser, and 6 transpalatine). Postoperatively, 32 patients (80%) had normal nasal patency and a satisfactory choanal diameter, and 8 (20%) had restenosis or complete choanal closure. Six underwent a second procedure, with success. The results in all children who had been previously treated with laser or transpalatine surgery were successful. The last patient, who presented with severe Treacher Collins syndrome, is still tracheotomized. There were no significant postoperative complications. One patient died of congenital cardiopathy 6 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Transnasal endoscopic repair of CA is a safe and successful technique. The use of powered instrumentation and routine postoperative revision endoscopy seems to avoid prolonged nasal stenting.