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Ann Thorac Surg 2004;78:448-449
© 2004 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Invited commentary

Department of Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, PO Box 951741, UCLA Medical Center, Room 62-215 CHS 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1741, USA

e-mail: rcameron@alumni.stanford.org

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This work by Walles and colleagues arises out of the perpetual desire and need for a viable tracheal substitute—the Holy Grail of tracheal surgery. While tissue engineering approaches in this area of research are not new, data are accumulating that the scaffold structure as well as the source of seed cells are important determinants of success. Due to an incomplete understanding of the interactions between growing cells and their surrounding matrix, the process of engineering tissues that blend a system of structural support and airway functionality has proven extremely challenging.

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