ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>to evaluate the risk factors for postoperative pulmonary complications following transoral operation for the atlanta-axis disorders.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>total 104 cases were collected from January 2005 to June 2009. Twelve variables among patients with PPCs and without PPCs were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications following transoral operation for the atlanta-axis disorders was 22.1% (23/104). There was significantly difference in 9 variables between patients with PPCs and without PPCs, and 5 variables as serum albumin < 35 g/L (OR = 15.185, P = 0.003), tracheotomy (OR = 32.254, P = 0.015), Frankle grade (OR = 8.866, P = 0.001), the duration of intubation > 4 d (OR = 7.934, P = 0.002), the duration of surgery > 6 h (OR = 16.889, P = 0.006) were found to be significantly related to the development to postoperative pulmonary complications by multivariate analysis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>serum albumin < 35 g/L, tracheotomy, Frankle grade, the duration of intubation > 4 d, the duration of surgery > 6 h are the risk factors for postoperative pulmonary complications following transoral operation for the atlanta-axis disorders.</p>