Balloon dilatation of the esophagus is a possible choice in the treatment of laryngeal Strictures. The authors investigated the rado of dilatations in successful treatment of laryngeal Strictures in children. They compared also the influence of etiology, site and duration of the stricture before dilatation on the Success of balloon dilatation. The authors made 39 dilatations in 13 children. The percentage of successful dilatations was 61.5%. For the Success of dilatations the duration of the stricture before dilatation is decisive. It is important to start with balloon dilatations within 15 months after development of the stricture. The etiology of the stricture is also decisive for Success - inflammatory Strictures are successfully dilated, while dilatation fails in paresis of the recurrent nerve. Sites of the stricture do not influence successful dilatation in a fundamental way. A major extent of the laryngeal stricture, however, reduces the Success rate of balloon dilatation.

        Key words: balloon dilatation, laryngeal stricture, etiology of stricture, site of stricture, duration of stricture