Novel Bio-Synthetic Graft for Tracheal Reconstruction in Pediatric Patients With Congenital Tracheal Stenosis: In Vitro Studies of Axial, and Bending Biomechanics

Congenital Tracheal Stenosis (CTS) is a rare birth defect requiring surgical interventions when it affects more than 30% of the trachea. Slide tracheoplasty, the current standard of care, is associated with reinterventions including the need for intraluminal stenting leading to increased airway infections. We propose a novel Bio-Synthetic Graft for long segment tracheal reconstructions in CTS patients. Preliminary bench performance testing, using lamb tracheas, shows that the Bio-Synthetic Graft reconstructed tracheas have comparable radial, axial and bending stiffness in hyperextension to healthy tracheas and resist collapse when subjected to bending in flexion. These results suggest that Bio-Synthetic Graft could be a promising alternative to existing solutions for long segment CTS.