Pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS), narrowing of the airway in children, is a complex medical condition. While it may be something a baby is born with or caused by an injury, the emergency situation can be life threatening if left untreated.
Treatment, however, is challenging. Depending on the severity, doctors use a combination of endoscopic techniques, surgical repair, tracheostomy, or the use of stents to keep the airway open and enable breathing.
While excellent stents have kept the airway open and at the same time allowed the trachea to keep growing, they can move around, or cause damage when they are finally removed. New research published in Communication Biology and led by the University of Pittsburgh on the verge of a major overhaul of stents, demonstrating for the first time the use of a fully biodegradable magnesium-alloy tracheal stent that avoids some of these risks .
The use of risk-based metal or silicone-based tracheal stents poses real problems and will not achieve the best clinical results, even in adults. The use of advanced biomaterials may be a less aggressive, and more successful, treatment option. “
Prashant N. Kumta, Edward R. Weidlein Chair Professor of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering
In the study, the extended ultra-high density (UHD) dual-fuel magnesium stent was shown to perform better than conventional non-biodegradable metallic stents used both in laboratory and in rabbit models. The stent has been shown to keep the airway open over time and has low rates of edema, showing normal healing and without severe complications.
“Our results are very promising for the use of this novel biodegradable, high ductility metal stent, especially for pediatric patients,” said Kumta, who also holds positions in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and the McGowan Rehabilitation Institute of Medicine. “We hope this new approach will lead to new and improved treatments for patients with this complex condition as well as preventative conditions. Other tracheals include tracheal cancer. “
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Magazine Reference:
Wu, J., et al. (2020) In-vivo efficacy of dual-fuel ultrahigh ductility Mg-Li-Zn alloy tracheal stents for pediatric airway obstruction. Communication Biology. doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01400-7.