Background
There have been reports that cryotherapy-based treatment is effective for benign central airway stenosis. However, the pathophysiologic mechanism of this modality is not well known.
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to investigate wh...
Background
There have been reports that cryotherapy-based treatment is effective for benign central airway stenosis. However, the pathophysiologic mechanism of this modality is not well known.
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether cryoablation has the effect of preventing stenosis recurrence in a pig model of induced benign tracheal stenosis, and to explore the mechanism behind it.
Method
After inducing airway stenosis in 6 pigs, 3 pigs treated with balloon dilatation, and other 3 treated with balloon dilatation and cryoablation. They were then observed for 3 weeks and underwent post-mortem tissue analysis.
Results: Pigs treated with cryoablation showed fewer sudden deaths (1/3 vs 2/3) and less progression of stenosis (on day 14: 80-84% vs 97%). In addition, they had less fibrosis, granulation tissue formation, and epithelial denudation in tissue analysis.
Conclusion
Cryotherapy (cryoablation) showed to be effective in preventing the progression of stenosis, and its mechanism is thought to be through inhibition of fibrosis, granulation tissue formation, and epithelial denudation.