Use of internal bioabsorbable PLGA "finger-type" stents in a rabbit tracheal reconstruction model.
OBJECTIVE
To design and develop a biodegradable tracheal stent that can be used internally to stabilize and support surgically reconstructed airways.


METHODS
In vitro mechanical and degradative properties of 80:20 poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) "finger-like" stents were determined. The stents were then tested in vivo in rabbits that underwent anterior patch tracheoplasties with fascia lata grafts. Comparisons were made between a control group and an internal stent group for stridor development, overall group mortality, reconstructed airway lumen size, and histological findings.


METHODS
Twenty-five New Zealand white rabbits.


RESULTS
The average dry modulus for the internal stents was 6800 kPa. All of the internal stents cracked by 4 weeks in buffer solution. Significant mass loss was not noted in vitro until after 5 weeks in buffer solution. By 14 weeks, the stents were nearly 100% degraded. The attrition rate for the control group was 23% compared with 17% for the experimental group. The stridor rate for the control group was also higher at 38% compared with 17% for the stented group. The stented rabbits had a significantly smaller average stenosis (23%) across the entire reconstruction site than the control group (34%) (P<.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Biodegradable PLGA stents degrade in a predictable fashion and have a statistically significant effect in augmenting anterior patch tracheoplasties with fascia lata grafts in rabbits.
Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mott Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0241, USA.
T C
TC
Robey
T
T
Välimaa
H S
HS
Murphy
P
P
Tôrmâlâ
D J
DJ
Mooney
R A
RA
Weatherly
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005205:Fascia; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011817:Rabbits; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000175:diagnosis; D015607:Stents; D014132:Trachea / Q000166:cytology / Q000601:surgery; D019737:Transplants
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid