Survival analysis of rats implanted with porous titanium tracheal prosthesis.

Abstract

Surgical treatment of a malignancy in the trachea may lead to a long resection that has to be reconstructed with an artificial prosthesis. However, most of the available prostheses encounter inflammatory rejection and mechanical constraint problems. To improve tracheal rehabilitation a porous titanium prosthesis was developed. The aim of this study was to test the biocompatibility of this novel material. Seventeen rats had a partial tracheal prosthesis made of porous titanium inserted in the cervical trachea. The histologic analysis of the tissue surrounding the prosthesis was performed in 11 surviving animals after a period of 15 to 41 days. Fibroblast colonization of titanium pores and a ciliary cylindrical epithelial layer developed on the endoluminal side of the prosthesis and the inflammatory reaction was minimal. The results of this short-term study validate, from surgical and histologic standpoints, the usefulness of a porous titanium tracheal prosthesis.