Fluoroscopy-guided balloon dilatation of benign esophageal strictures in children: 11-year experience

Background The esophageal stricture is an important clinical problem in children, and the treatment is difficult. Objective To evaluate the results of fluoroscopy-guided balloon dilatation of benign pediatric esophageal strictures and to suggest a safety range for balloon diameters. Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children who underwent fluoroscopy-guided esophageal balloon dilatation for treatment of benign esophageal stricture from February 2008 to July 2019. We recorded the demographic data of the children, technical details of each procedure, balloon diameter, number of repeated procedures, clinical and technical success rates, complications and follow-up period. Technical success was defined as the disappearance of the waist formation on the balloon catheter, and clinical success was defined as no need for re-dilation or other treatment methods during the 1-year follow-up after the procedure. These children were divided into groups and evaluated according to esophageal stricture etiology. Results Technically successful procedures included 375 balloon dilatations in 116 patients (67 boys; age range: 1 month to 18 years; mean age: 4.3 +/- 4.8 standard deviation [SD] years at the initial dilatation). The follow-up period was 1-138 months (median: 41 months; mean: 44 months) since the last dilatation. In this study, the clinical success rate was 34% per procedure (120 of 353 procedures) and 85% per patients (91 of 107 patients). The total complication rate per procedure was 0.5%, and the perforation rate was 0.25% per session. Conclusion Fluoroscopy-guided esophageal balloon dilatation is an effective and reliable method for treating benign esophageal strictures in children