Surgical treatment of complex post -COVID tracheal stenosis. A case report

Background: The SARS-COV 2 disease has caused a global health crisis that does not appear to end soon. Although the majority of infected patients develop mild symptoms, it is estimated that approximately 88% of patients admitted to the intensive care unit for COVID require invasive mechanical ventilation and receive ventilatory support for an average of 18 days. Tracheal stenosis is a life-threatening condition, that usually arises as a result of orotracheal intubation or secondary to tracheostomy. It has long been postulated that ischemia secondary to intubation is the main cause of scarring in patients with tracheal stenosis. We describe a case of double tracheal stenosis in a post-COVID patient that was successfully managed surgically. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, tracheal stenosis, tracheoplasty, bronchoscopy, tracheal stent.