AURICULAR CARTILAGE VERSUS COSTAL CARTILAGE AS A GRAFTING MATERIAL INEXPERIMENTAL LARYNGOTRACHEAL RECONSTRUCTION

Auricular cartilage has been used clinically as an alternative materia l to costal cartilage for implantation during laryngotracheal reconstr uctive surgery. Little information is available concerning the healing characteristics or the durability of these two types of graft. The au thors of this study examined the rate of epithelialization and the sur vival of cartilage in a rabbit model of anterior tracheal wall reconst ruction and directly compared auricular and costal cartilage grafts. A uricular cartilage was found to epithelialize faster than costal carti lage. Both types of graft survived well after implantation. The superi or healing characteristics of auricular cartilage make it a desirable material for laryngotracheal reconstruction.