TISSUE COMPATIBILITY AND BIODEGRADATION OF NEW ABSORBABLE STENTS FOR TRACHEAL STABILIZATION - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY

Newly designed absorbable stents for temporary tracheal stabilization were implanted into the trachea of 35 Wistar rats. The stents consiste d of Vicryl filaments in a homogenous PDS melt, Compatibility and biod egradation were investigated over a study period of up to 24 weeks. Af ter the animals were killed, the trachea was examined with an optic an d scanning electron microscope, During the first 2 weeks erosive mucos al defects appeared in the trachea, as well as distinct polyps of gran ulation tissue, focal metaplasia of the epithelium, and inflammatory i nfiltrates of the lamina propria, During the period leading to the six th week, the granulations flattened and mild fibrotic alterations evol ved. After the eighth week no stent residues could be detected, wherea s only slight signs of chronic fibrotic inflammation persisted. No evi dence for aspirations of foreign bodies or progressive inflammatory ch anges of the mediastinum was found. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunder s Company.