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Ann Thorac Surg 2006;81:1075
© 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Original article: General thoracic

Invited commentary

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific, Room AA-115, Box 356310, Seattle, WA 98195-6310

(Email: dewood@u.washington.edu).

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Replacement of the carina is one of the most difficult challenges facing the thoracic surgeon. Primary airway tumors of the carina are rare, but surgical resection offers the best hope for curative intent in nearly all cases. The longitudinal extent of carinal resection is limited to approximately 4 cm due to the complexity of airway reconstruction at the tracheal bifurcation. Although the anatomy of the carina creates additional anatomical considerations for reconstruction, the absence of a suitable airway substitute is no different for long-segment tracheal resection. Clearly there is a need for a conduit to replace the central airway to allow more aggressive resection of both tracheal and carinal neoplasms. Investigators have tried a . . . [Full Text of this Article]