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Airway Management in Patients with Robin Sequence

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Cleft Lip and Palate

Abstract

Airway management in infants with Robin sequence (RS) remains controversial, ranging from conservative to operative modalities. In some centers, tracheostomy remains the mainstay for those infants with severe respiratory obstruction. We present here a retrospective review of 61 infants with RS at a large tertiary center from 1994 to 2010. Patients who had undergone tracheostomy were identified. Baseline demographics, complications, mortality, and time to decannulation without further surgical intervention (i.e., “natural” decannulation) were recorded. We witnessed that tracheostomy in infants with RS is associated with inordinately high rates of mortality and morbidity and long-term tracheostomy dependence, particularly patients with syndromic RS.

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Abbreviations

CNMC:

Children’s National Medical Center

CPT:

Current Procedure Terminology

ICD – 9:

International Classifications of ­Diseases Version 9

LOS:

Length of hospital stay

NPA:

Nasopharyngeal airway

RS:

Robin sequence

SPSS:

Statistical Program for Social Sciences

TLA:

Tongue-lip adhesion

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The authors have no financial or commercial interests to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plastic Surgery, 1PHC, Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Rd, NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA

    Kevin D. Han M.D. & Mitchel Seruya M.D.

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, Pediatrics, and Integrative Systems Biology, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Diego A. Preciado M.D., Ph.D.

  3. Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Department of Otolaryngology, Children’s National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20010, USA

    Diego A. Preciado M.D., Ph.D.

  4. Department of Surgery and Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Albert K. Oh M.D.

  5. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Children’s National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Ave NW 4th floor West Wing, Washington, DC, 20010, USA

    Albert K. Oh M.D.

Authors
  1. Kevin D. Han M.D.
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  2. Mitchel Seruya M.D.
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  3. Diego A. Preciado M.D., Ph.D.
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  4. Albert K. Oh M.D.
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Correspondence to Albert K. Oh M.D. .

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  1. Paradela Street 11035, Coral Gables, 33156, Florida, USA

    Samuel Berkowitz

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Han, K.D., Seruya, M., Preciado, D.A., Oh, A.K. (2013). Airway Management in Patients with Robin Sequence. In: Berkowitz, S. (eds) Cleft Lip and Palate. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30770-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30770-6_11

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