Tracheal Replacement Strategies

Pierre Delaere, MD, PhD, Tony Lerut, MD, FRCS, Dirk Van Raemdonck, MD, PhD, Louise De Prins

Keypoints

  • Tracheal regeneration is as unlikely as the regeneration of an external ear or nose.
  • Orthotopic revascularization of the trachea is only currently possible with autotransplants.
  • Orthotopic tracheal patch transplantation is possible after heterotopic revascularization.
  • Immunosuppressive drugs are necessary for tracheal allograft revascularization.
  • Chondrocytes are immunologically privileged because they are protected within a matrix.
  • There are not yet any reliable reconstruction techniques for long, circumferential tracheal defects.

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