Abstract
Central airway obstruction often presents with airway narrowing of differing internal diameters. Conventional straight stents do not fit these airways well and are prone to migration. We present a series of cases where hourglass-shaped silicone stents were customized intra-operatively to fit airway obstructions of both malignant and non-malignant etiologies and to improve patient performance status. Modified hourglass stents are a versatile tool to manage inoperable airway obstruction with unique anatomical characteristics.