AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE REPAIR OF THE TRAUMATIC LARYNGEAL STENOSIS

Laryngeal stenosis was created by partial resection of the thyroid cartilage in dogs. This condition was thought to be compatible with the laryngeal stenosis after acute traumatic injury in man. The laryngeal air space decreased its size to one-third of the normal dog. The thyroid cartilage twisted three months later, but difficulty in breathing was not observed in all dogs. When the defect was covered by perichondrium, cartilage formation observed postoperatively and when the perichondrium was not used, cartilage formation was not observed. The defects were repaired using auto- or homograft of thyroid or costal cartilage. All dogs were killed three months after the operation. Perichondrium had to be treated as carefully as possible, because it was useful postoperative cartilage formation. This postoperative cartilage or bone formation occured in the part of the transplantation made the newly created framework stronger. In all cases laryngeal air space was reconstructed satisfactorily.