Elizabeth F Maughan, Colin R Butler, Claire Crowley, Gui Zhen Teoh, Margot den Hondt, Nicholas J Hamilton, Robert E Hynds, Peggy Lange, Tahera Ansari, Luca Urbani, Samuel M Janes, Paolo de Coppi, Martin A Birchall, Martin J Elliott
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Despite surgical advances, childhood tracheal stenosis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Various tracheal scaffold strategies have been developed as the basis for bioengineered substitutes, but there is no consensus on which may be superior in vivo. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in morbidity and mortality between three competing scaffold strategies in rabbits. STUDY DESIGN: Pilot preclinical study. METHODS: Tracheal scaffolds were prepared by three methods that have been applied clinically and reported: preserved cadaveric ("Herberhold") allografts, detergent-enzymatically decellularized allografts, and synthetic scaffolds (nanocomposite polymer [polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane poly(carbonate-urea) urethane (POSS-PCU)])...
December 2017: Laryngoscope