Porous-type tracheal prosthesis sealed with collagen sponge

Background. Reconstruction of a long section of the trachea is clinically problematic. Tracheal reconstructions using prostheses have met with limited success due to local infection, hemorrhage, luminal stenosis and prosthesis dislocation. Methods. We have designed a porous type of tracheal prosthesis in which the mesh is sealed with collagen sponge. We used this prosthesis (50 mm in length) to reconstruct the cervical trachea in 10 mongrel dogs and evaluated its efficacy. Results. One dog died due to an accident with anesthesia at 6 weeks and 1 of suffocation at 10 weeks. The other 8 dogs had an uneventful postoperative course until they were killed between 6 and 24 months after implantation. At sacrifice, all the prostheses had become completely incorporated into the host. Microscopic examination revealed advanced formation of a new epithelial lining in 1 dog at 6 months, and a confluent epithelial lining was observed in another dog at 12 months. Central stenosis was not significant in any of the animals. Conclusions. This tracheal prosthesis gives good results in canine tracheal reconstruction, and appears very promising for the clinical repair of tracheal defects. (C) 1997 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.