Surgical treatment of tracheal collapse using pliable total ring prostheses: results in one experimental and 4 clinical cases.

Pliable total ring prostheses were created from the polyvinyl chloride drip chambers of intravenous administration sets. The total ring prostheses were placed in one clinically normal research dog and in 4 client-owned dogs diagnosed with tracheal collapse. The research dog was euthanized one month after placement of the prostheses. Histopathological analysis of the trachea adjacent to the prostheses revealed a mild inflammatory response. The follow-up period for the clinical cases was from 4 months to 11 years. Radiographs taken and fluoroscopy performed 1 day to 5 months after surgery revealed improvement or resolution of the tracheal collapse. One dog was asymptomatic 28 weeks following surgery. Two dogs died 7 and 9 years after surgery, with one requiring intermittent medical management for coughing. They were euthanized for nonrespiratory illness. One dog had a persistent nonproductive cough, due to collapse of the mainstem bronchi, when last evaluated 4 months postoperatively. Pliable total ring prostheses provided adequate stability to the trachea and had the advantage of conforming to the trachea and being easy to create, place, and suture.