Artificial Trachea

Two months ago, a clinical team at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm implanted a synthetic trachea in a 36 year old man who was suffering from late stage tracheal cancer.  To make the implant, bioengineers used a polymer scaffold that could support growth of the patient’s own induced pluripotent stem cells.  The patient tolerated this living prosthetic well and even had a cough reflex after two days.  MORE

Image Credit:   CNN.com