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Purpose. Airway stenting offers good palliation and improves the quality of life in patients with inoperable bronchotracheal stenosis. However, in some cases, the management of stenting can be life-threatening. Hence, a strategy for maintaining oxygenation and hemodynamic stability should be anticipated to avoid critical situations. Herein, we report the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in bronchotracheal stenting management to secure oxygenation and facilitate interventions. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent rigid bronchoscopy under ECMO support for the management of bronchotracheal stenting at CHU UCL Namur hospital (Belgium), between January 2009 and December 2019. Results. We included 14 bronchoscopy cases performed on 11 patients (3 patients underwent 2 bronchoscopies) in this study; 12 were performed on males and 2 on females. The median age was 54 years. There were 11 benign and 3 malignant etiologies for the central airway obstruction/stenosis. Eight cases were supported by venovenous ECMO and six by venoarterial ECMO. The median ECMO time was 267 minutes. The weaning of ECMO support was successful in all cases. In most cases, the procedures were performed effectively and safely. Only two local complications caused by the cannulation of ECMO were reported, and anticoagulation was adapted to avoid bleeding at the operating site and clot formation in the system. Conclusion. Elective ECMO support was helpful and safe for the high-risk management of bronchotracheal stenting with rigid bronchoscopy and was not associated with any additional significant complications.

Introduction. We herein report our experience with new fully covered self-expanding metallic stents in the setting of inoperable recurrent benign tracheobronchial stenosis. Methods. Between May 2010 and July 2014, 21 Micro-Tech® FC-SEMS (Nanjing Co., Republic of Korea) were placed in our hospital in 16 patients for inoperable, recurrent (after dilatation), and symptomatic benign airway stenosis. Their medical files were retrospectively reviewed in December 2014, with focus on stent’s tolerance and durability data. Results. Twenty-one stents were inserted: 13 for posttransplant left main bronchus anastomotic stricture, seven for postintubation tracheal stenosis, and one for postlobectomy anastomotic stricture. Positioning was easy for all of them. Stents were in place for a mean duration of 282 days. The most common complications were granulation tissue development (35%), migration (30%), and sputum retention (15%). Fifty-five % of the stents (11/20) had to be removed because of various complications, without difficulty for all of them. None of the patients had life-threatening complications. Conclusion. Micro-Tech FC-SEMS were easy to position and to remove. While the rate of complications requiring stent removal was significant, no life-threatening complication occurred. Further studies are needed to better define their efficacy and safety in the treatment of benign airway disease.