Refractory choanal atresia: what makes a child susceptible? The great Ormond Street Hospital experience.

Objective: An outcome analysis of factors that predispose patients to require multiple surgical procedures for choanal atresia repair.

Design: Retrospective case note review of choanal atresia patients identified from a prospectively collected database at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, between 1992 and 2005.

Setting: Specialist centre in pediatric otolaryngology.

Methods: All patients underwent atresia correction by a transnasal approach under endoscopic guidance using a 120 degrees Hopkins rod telescope to visualize the posterior choanae from the nasopharynx. The atretic plate was first perforated using urethral sounds. The posterior choanal opening was subsequently enlarged using the microdebrider drill. Portex endotracheal tubes were used as stents in selected cases.

Results: Twenty children (9 male, 11 female) were identified who underwent multiple surgical procedures for restenosis following choanal atresia repair during the study period. The number of procedures per patient ranged from 6 to 42. Approximately half of the patients had other associated major anomalies.

Conclusions: Following primary endoscopic transnasal repair, 9.8% of the patients were considered to have refractory choanal atresia, requiring six or more surgical procedures. Male gender, bilateral disease, associated congenital anomalies, low birth weight, and small stent size are potential risk factors for restenosis of choanal atresia. There was no obvious relationship between the duration of stent placement and restenosis.