These grafts may be taken from either the anterior ribs or thyroid cartilage of the larynx and placed on the anterior (front) or posterior (back) walls of the airway, or in both places.

This surgery can take three to five hours and your child leaves the operating room with a breathing tube (no tracheostomy). Your child's breathing tube must remain in place for four to seven days to stent the area while it heals.

The total length of the hospital stay will depend on your child's healing process, and is typically one to two weeks in the ICU.