The History of Engineered Tracheal Replacements: Interpreting the Past and Guiding the Future.

ABSTRACT: The development of a tracheal graft to replace long-segment defects has thwarted clinicians and engineers alike for over 100 years. To better understand the challenges facing this field today, we have consolidated all published reports of engineered tracheal grafts used to repair long-segment circumferential defects in humans, from the first in 1898 to the most recent in 2018, totaling 290 clinical cases. Distinct trends emerge in the types of grafts used over time, including repair using autologous fascia, rigid tubes of various inert materials, and pretreated cadaveric allografts. Our analysis of maximum clinical follow-up, as a proxy for graft performance, revealed that the Leuven protocol has a significantly longer clinical follow-up time than all other methods of airway reconstruction

SUBMITTER: Greaney AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8390779 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature