World’s First Artificial Bronchus Graft Implanted

A 78-year-old patient with an extensive right bronchopulmonary malignant tumor has received the world’s first artificial bronchus graft at Paris’s Avicenne Hospital. The procedure was carried out in October of 2009, but only published now that the describing article in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is out. After an upper bilobectomy with lymph node removal, a primary end-to-end bronchial anastomosis was not possible. An artificial bronchus was made out of cryopreserved aortic tissue from a tissue bank and strengthened by a stent. The use of aortic tissue obviates the need of anti-rejection meds, and one year after the operation the patient was doing well with no graft-related complications.
News story: World first artificial bronchus graft in France…
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