In vitro evaluation of a novel prosthesis for laryngoplasty of horses with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy.

The research article presents a study on a new prosthesis made from a steel cable and stress-reducing washers, designed to improve the success of laryngoplasty in horses suffering from recurrent laryngeal neuropathy. The prosthesis was tested in vitro on larynges of deceased horses and was compared to the traditional polyester suture method.

Research Material and Methodology

• The researchers used 15 horse cadaveric larynges for the study.
• Laryngoplasties were performed using a polyester suture on one side and the cable prosthesis on the other side of the same cadaveric sample.
• The researchers then applied a displacement force of 20mm/s using a servohydraulic materials testing machine to both the polyester suture and the cable prosthesis, until the laryngoplasty failed.
• The force and displacement required to cause the laryngoplasty to fail were recorded and analyzed for each sample.

Results and Observations

• The polyester suture incurred failure in all 15 laryngoplasties at a mean force of 55.8 +/- 13.1 N.
• However, the cable prosthesis failed at the muscular process in only six cases, and at a significantly higher mean force (219.6 +/- 125.0 N).
• In the remaining nine laryngoplasties, the cable prosthesis caused an avulsion of the arytenoid cartilage from the larynx at mean force 206.4 +/- 75.3 N, and later failed at the muscular process at a mean force 357.0 +/- 32.0 N.
• The differences in the forces required for laryngoplasty to fail were significant with a statistical value (P<0.0001).

Conclusions and Further Research

• It was observed that the steel cable prosthesis was able to withstand significantly higher forces compared to the traditional polyester suturing method.
• Despite demonstrating better performance in vitro, the researchers emphasize that the effects of the steel cable prosthesis should be evaluated in vivo, i.e., in living horses, to better determine its efficacy and safety.