COMPARISON OF THE CHONDROGENIC POTENTIAL OF FREE AND VASCULARIZED PERICHONDRIUM IN THE AIRWAY

Revascularized perichondrium or periosteum may be the ideal graft to r epair severe laryngotracheal stenosis because of its pliability, poten tial for bone or cartilage formation, resistance to infection, and rap id mucosalization. To begin our evaluation of these grafts in airway r econstruction, this study was designed to quantify the chondrogenic ca pacity of free and vascularized perichondrium placed in the airway. In a rabbit model, free auricular perichondrium (N = 16) produced a mean cartilage thickness of 0.15 mm, whereas vascularized auricular perich ondrium (N = 18) produced a mean of 0.45 mm at 8 weeks (p<.0001). In a third group of rabbits (N = 4) vascularized auricular perichondrial g rafts were subjected to a 2-hour intraoperative ischemic insult in ord er to simulate the ischemia of revascularization. The mean cartilage t hickness at 8 weeks was 0.50 mm. We conclude that in the rabbit model, vascularized perichondrium provides significantly more cartilage than free perichondrial grafts.