Artificial windpipe to fix respiratory disorder

TEHRAN - In a rare treatment of respiratory problems, Iranian doctors have developed an artificial windpipe (trachea) from polymer and planted it in the throat of a patient.

The artificial trachea was implanted on a 29-year-old female patient at Masih Daneshvari hospital in Tehran.

The implant was done without surgical operation, said Dr Jalaleddin Ghanavi who treated the patient.

He said he planted a frame on throat of the patient to fix the artificial organ. “Then, stem cells from the same organ were injected into bone marrow of the patient to help reproduce cartilage to support the implant”.

Head of Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Ali Akbar Velayati, said the new technique will be helpful for the patients who do not respond to existing methods of treatments and surgeries.