MINIMALLY INVASIVE THERAPY OF OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGIC EMERGENCIES IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN - INDICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Minimally invasive therapy of otorhinolaryngologic emergencies in infa nts and children was made possible by the development of improved paed iatric endoscopes, telescopes and advances in anaesthetic and laser te chniques. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is a safe and efficaciou s therapy in children with orbital complications of acute sinusitis re quiring surgery. Thus, external ethmoidectomy, which carries a serious risk of late complications like mucoceles, can be avoided. The most d emanding emergency, however, is airway obstruction in infants and chil dren. Historically, tracheotomy was the mainstay of treatment. Nowaday s, various obstructing proliferations like haemangiomas, papillomas, c ysts and granulomas are removed endoscopically. Selected cases of acqu ired laryngeal and tracheal stenosis may be managed with the CO2 laser .