Tracheal stenosis and keloid scar

Abstract

LETTER TO THE EDITORMr. Editor, The frequency of tracheal stenosis after orotracheal intubation varies between 10% and 22%, depending on the consulted series; however, severe stenosis occurs in only 2% of cases 1 . Keloid or hypertrophic scarring, which has an incidence of between 4 and 16% in the Mexican population, is a recognized risk factor for tracheal stenosis that often goes unnoticed 2 . With the idea of highlighting this serious complication, we present a prototype case.A 27-year-old woman with a history of the previous intubation for 9 days secondary to a suicide attempt 21 months earlier was admitted to hospital for stridor and dyspnea with a 34-week pregnancy complicated by symptomatic preeclampsia. During her evaluation, subglottic stenosis with 5-mm airway caliber was corroborated by neck computed tomography (Fig. 1); radiological evaluation included the thoracic surgery department. On physical examination, multiple keloid scars on forearms from self-inflicted injuries stood