Thanks to a device implanted in the throat, a Uruguayan patient can eat and drink other than through a tube for the first time in two years, informs the EurekAlert service.
During the summer, surgeons from the University of California, Davis, during an away operation in Montevideo, implanted an experimental titanium throat implant from Uruguayan cardiologist Daniel Fiandra, who had lost the ability to swallow due to a tumor.
Now, as a California study has shown, a patient can manually control this important process by pulling on a small piece of metal that protrudes from the neck. This movement moves the trachea and opens the way to the esophagus, which allows you to consume drinks and solid food as normal.
The implantation of the implant attached to the tracheal cartilage took only 45 minutes, but the recovery took several months. Radiological examination showed that the method works. It could help millions of people with swallowing disorders (dysphagia).
Dysphagia can lead to choking, dehydration, pneumonia, malnutrition and depression. It can be a consequence of stroke, head and neck tumors, head injuries, advanced age or neurodegenerative changes related to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Currently used surgical methods are invasive and do not always help, often giving only partial improvement (PAP).