Tracheal Stents Improves Breathing In Children

In pediatric patients having laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS), the airway obstruction can be effectively opened by using a biodegradable magnesium-alloy stent.

Pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a complex medical condition seen in children characterized by narrowing of the airway. This condition can be caused by an injury or something a child is born with and can result in a life-threatening emergency if untreated.

However, treatment of this condition is challenging and depends on the severity. Doctors use combination endoscopic techniques, surgical repair, tracheostomy, or deployment of stents to hold the airway open and allow breathing.

Open Heart Surgery Outperforms Stents in Multivessel Disease Patients
CABG (Coronary artery bypass grafting) surgery may be the best treatment option for multivessel heart disease patients, finds a new study.

‘In pediatric patients having laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS), the airway obstruction can be effectively opened by using a biodegradable magnesium-alloy stent. These stents showed low degradation rate, normal healing, and no adverse effects.’
Read More..

Stents are great at holding the airway open and simultaneously allowing the trachea to continue growing. However, they can move around or can even cause damage when they are removed. A new research for the first time has shown that the use of stents can be improved by demonstrating the successful use of a completely biodegradable magnesium-alloy tracheal stent that avoids some of these risks.

The research led by University of Pittsburgh is published in the journal Communications Biology.

Prashant N. Kumta, Edward R. Weidlein Chair Professor of bioengineering at the Swanson School of Engineering said, “Using commercial non-biodegradable metal or silicone based tracheal stents has a risk of severe complications and doesn't achieve optimal clinical outcomes, even in adults. Using advanced biomaterials could offer a less invasive, and more successful, treatment option.”

FDA Clears 3D-printed Patient-specific Airway Stents
3D printing technology: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 3D-printed patient-matched stents, which are made specifically to fit the patients’ airways.

The study showed that the balloon-expandable ultra-high ductility (UHD) biodegradable magnesium stent performed better than the currently used metallic non-biodegradable stents in both in lab testing and in rabbit models.

The stent was able to keep the airway open over time, showed low degradation rate and displayed normal healing and no adverse effects.

Tracheal Cancer (Cancer of the Windpipe) - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
Tracheal or windpipe cancer is a rare cancer and its cause is unclear. The most common squamous cell type of cancer has been linked to smoking. The main forms of treatment include surgery and radiotherapy.

Kumta, who also holds appointments in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine said, “Our results are very promising for the use of this novel biodegradable, high ductility metal stent, particularly for pediatric patients. We hope this new approach leads to new and improved treatments for patients with this complex condition as well as other tracheal obstruction conditions including tracheal cancer.”

Source-Medindia

Diet for Obstructive Lung Disease
The right balance of energy boosting foods and protein foods along with adequate vitamin and mineral intake is the right diet for COPD.