Regeneration and Repair Mechanism of the Larynx and Trachea with Hybrid Artificial Scaffold

Abstract

Our group reported on the use of artificial airways on human cases. These airways were composed of polypropylene mesh and rings as the frame and collagenous sponge as the scaffold. Clinical applications resulted in near successful results. It is important to have a clear understanding of the mechanisms of laryngeal or tracheal regeneration for the purpose of determining a way to achieve more rapid regeneration. In this report, the mechanism of laryngeal regeneration with artificial airways was analyzed, and the effects of hybrid airways with fibroblasts on laryngeal regeneration were evaluated. After reconstruction of laryngeal defects on rats with artificial airways, the migration of macrophages, the thinning and thickening of collagenous fiber, the differentiation of epithelium, and vascularization were observed in turn. It was found that laryngeal regeneration utilizing hybrid airway reconstruction occurred more rapidly than with artificial airways only. It was suggested that fibroblasts played an important role in laryngeal regeneration and that a hybrid artificial airway with fibroblasts contributed to rapid laryngeal regeneration.