Presidential address

Notes on the windpipe☆

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a highly impactful professional organization in cardiothoracic surgery and an important network of mentors for trainees. Annually, presidents of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons deliver an address encapsulating their professional experiences, lessons learned, and future vision for the field. We sought to summarize these lessons into salient points for trainees. Transcriptions from 1964 to 2018 were reviewed by residents and expounded into categories of importance for readers. Six overarching themes were identified: (1) leadership, (2) education, (3) clinical excellence and innovation, (4) humanism and professionalism, (5) diversity and inclusion, and (6) the future of cardiothoracic surgery.

To evaluate the management, complications of treatment, and outcomes of postintubation tracheal stenosis.

A retrospective review was performed of records from a prospective database of all patients undergoing tracheal or laryngotracheal resection from 1993 to 2017 for postintubation tracheal stenosis. Redo operations after failure of initial resection and reconstruction for postintubation tracheal stenosis were included.

There were 392 patients whose ages ranged from 3 months to more than 84 years. A tracheostomy was performed in 275 as part of their care before surgery (present at time of resection in 123), dilations in 201, laser treatment in 82, T tubes in 66, and stents in 44 patients. Median length of resection was 3 cm. Laryngeal release was required in 15 of 392 (3.8%). Operative mortality was 0.8% (3 of 392); T tubes, tracheostomy present at resection, requirement for postoperative tracheostomy, and laryngeal involvement adversely impacted outcomes. Patients having tracheal resection and reconstruction had good or satisfactory outcomes in 96% (289 of 301) compared with 85% (77 of 91) having laryngotracheal resection. Complications within 30 days and at more than 30 days occurred in 116 patients and 14 patients, respectively. There were 96 anastomotic complications—68% minor (65 of 96), and 32% major (31 of 96). Necrosis of cartilage occurred in 12 patients and dehiscence in 14 patients.

Despite advances in care postintubation tracheal stenosis remains a challenging problem. Laryngotracheal resection and tracheostomy lead to worse outcomes. Excellent surgical results can be obtained for postintubation tracheal stenosis. Good results require careful evaluation, management of comorbid conditions, meticulous technique, minimizing tension, and preservation of blood supply.

Rapid development of tissue engineering technology provides new methods for tracheal cartilage regeneration. However, the current lack of an ideal scaffold makes engineering of trachea cartilage tissue into a three-dimensional (3-D) tubular structure a great challenge. Although a decellularized trachea matrix (DTM) has become a recognized scaffold for trachea cartilage regeneration, it is difficult for cells to detach from or penetrate the matrix because of its non-porous structure. To tackle these problems, a laser micropore technique (LMT) was applied in the current study to enhance trachea sample porosity, and facilitate decellularizing treatment and cell ingrowth. Furthermore, after optimizing LMT and decellularizing treatment parameters, LMT-treated DTM (LDTM) retained its natural tubular structure with only minor extracellular matrix damage. Moreover, compared with DTM, the current study showed that LDTM significantly improved the adherence rate of cells with perfect cell biocompatibility. Moreover, the optimal implantation cell density for chondrogenesis with LDTM was determined to be 1 × 10⁸ cells/ml. Collectively, the results suggest that the novel LDTM is an ideal scaffold for trachea tissue engineering.

We describe the case of a child with isolated absence of cartilaginous tracheal rings and a trifurcate carina. At 6 months of age, the patient presented to our multidisciplinary airway clinic with stridor and recurrent severe respiratory infections requiring hospitalization. Radiographs showed airway narrowing. Exam demonstrated biphasic stridor. Flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy demonstrated only mild laryngomalacia. Operative bronchoscopy demonstrated severe tracheomalacia with absence of any visible tracheal rings and a trifurcate carina. Subsequent CT imaging corroborated these findings and did not demonstrate any other major abnormality. The patient did not require operative intervention and his subsequent course was uncomplicated.

La chirurgie trachéale a progressivement évolué avec l’essor de l’anesthésie, la compréhension des différentes pathologies rencontrées et les efforts de nombreux chirurgiens dans le monde entier. À l’ère de la transplantation d’organes, le remplacement de la trachée reste un problème non résolu et l’un des plus grands défis en chirurgie thoracique. L’utilisation d’un greffon aortique rigidifié par une endoprothèse comme substitut trachéal a conduit, chez l’animal, à une régénération tissulaire inattendue sous la forme d’une « néo-trachée » fonctionnelle comprenant un épithélium respiratoire et du cartilage. Ces résultats ont mené aux premières applications cliniques, en France, chez des malades ayant des tumeurs malignes étendues de la trachée jusqu’alors incurables. Les travaux de recherche fondamentale et clinique doivent être amplifiés en ce domaine, pour, d’une part, offrir un traitement chirurgical standardisé aux lésions trachéales complexes et, d’autre part, mieux analyser les mécanismes de régénération trachéale.

Tracheal surgery has evolved progressively with advances in anaesthesia, the understanding of tracheal pathology and the efforts made by surgeons all over the world. In the era of organ transplantation, tracheal replacement remains an unsolved problem and one of the most important challenges in thoracic surgery. In animals, the use of a stent supported aortic graft as a tracheal substitute led to unexpected tissue regeneration in the form of a functional “neo-trachea” with respiratory epithelium and cartilage. These results led to the first clinical applications in France in patients with extensive, incurable, malignant tracheal tumors. Experimental and clinical research programs have to be increased in order, firstly to provide a standardized surgical technique for complex tracheal lesions and secondly to understand better the mechanisms of tracheal regeneration.

Postintubation tracheal stenosis is caused by either cuff-induced ischemic damage to the trachea, stomal injury from a tracheostomy, or a combination of the two. Patients who present with stridor or unexplained dyspnea after a period of mechanical ventilation should be investigated for postintubation tracheal stenosis. Most patients with such an injury are candidates for tracheal resection and reconstruction. The length of the anticipated resection is the most important determinant of resectability. Tracheal resection is now a standardized operation with predictable, reliable, good results. The principles of operative repair include precise bronchoscopic assessment, complete tracheal mobilization, dissection close to the trachea to avoid recurrent nerve injury, and precise anastomotic technique.