For example, the most widely used silicone stent-the DUMON stent with a studded cylindrical tube shape-is more likely to result in accumulation and blockage of mucous when used in the management of benign airway stenosis, and there is no effective way to avoid this. Most manufacturers can only offer customization in sizes and diameters and each different stent design has its own technical limitations. Īirway stents are produced in certain forms such as straight, branched Y and T tube shapes. It is hoped that in the future 3D printing technology can help researchers make significant advances in the search for an ideal airway stent design and manufacture.
The most common complications of airway stents can be listed as migration of the stent, formation of granulation tissue around the stent, problems with mucociliary clearance, low patient tolerance, problems with placement and removal, and breakage of the stent. In addition, stents are foreign bodies that can cause complications such as bacterial colonization and invasive infections which may sometimes require immediate intervention. In addition, it should be biocompatible, non-migratory and should act as a barrier against the ingrowth of the tumor if present. An "ideal" stent should have the mechanical strength to withstand external pressure forces to maintain the lumen patency and it should also be flexible enough to conform to the shape of the airway lumen.
The use of an airway stent might be necessary to prevent a tumor from spreading throughout the airway, to aid the healing of airway fistulas, or to prevent the airway wall from collapsing. The conditions related to malignancy, such as endobronchial tumor with residual obstruction after multimodality thermal therapy, malignant airway obstruction from extrinsic compression, loss of cartilage support from tumor destruction and malignant tracheoesophageal fistula, and the benign diseases, such as complex benign stricture or stenosis > 4 cm in length, benign stricture or stenosis in an inoperable patient, post-transplant airway stenosis and benign tracheoesophageal fistula, are the possible indications of airway stenting. Indications for airway stenting can occur in both malignant and benign processes. ConclusionsĪ novel approach, which includes mathematical function-based design and 3D printing technology, is proposed in this study for the fabrication of airway stents as a promising tool for future treatments of central airway pathologies.Īirway stents are hollow tubular endobronchial prostheses composed of a variety of biodegradable or non-biodegradable materials that support and maintain the patency of the airways. Compression tests have shown that the mathematical function-based design offers the opportunity to adjust the mechanical strength of airway stents without changing the material or manufacturing method.
SEM images revealed the layered topography of high-resolution 3D printed parts.
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The outputs of the mathematical modeling software were successfully converted into 3D printable files and airway stents with a porosity of more than 85% were 3D printed. The mechanical properties of airway stents with various designs and porosity were compared by compression test. The fine details in the microstructure of 3D printed parts were observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The highly porous structures with designated scales were fabricated by utilizing a stereolithography-based 3D printing technology. MethodsĪ mathematical modeling software (MathMod) was used to design five different airway stents. The main purpose of this study is to introduce the newly designed complex airway stent models that are created through mathematical functions and manufactured with 3D printing for implementation in real life. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a method applied to build a 3D object of any shape from a digital model, and it provides crucial advantages especially for transferring patient-specific designs to clinical settings.
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