Key Points

• Medical treatment is the first line of therapy for inflammatory conditions of the airway.
• Surgical intervention is indicated for treatment of airway obstruction and in the presence of refractory response to medical therapy.
• Discrete lesions with a known or predictable natural history are best treated by resection and bronchoplastic reconstruction.
• Many patients are disabled by long-segment stenosis or an ongoing systemic disease and require aggressive and repeated interventional bronchoscopy to palliate the symptoms and signs of central airway obstruction.