Trisha Vikranth
School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering
Decellularised pleural membrane patches for the management of prolonged alveolar air leaks
Prolonged alveolar air leaks as complications to routine lung resections and biopsies are a significant cause for patient morbidity , with extended duration of chest tube drainage and revision surgeries being the gold standard approach to its clinical management . Transplantable decellularised pleural patches can function as an adjunct to conventional surgical closure techniques reinforcing the physical barrier to reduce the incidence of sustained air leaks and promote regeneration of the compromised lung surface as a bioactive interface that stimulates inherent repair mechanisms in the patient .
Our study aims to optimise a decellularisation protocol for easily accessible porcine pleural membranes and assess its efficiency in retaining the native membrane composition , microarchitecture , and mechanical integrity whilst eliminating the foreign cellular components of the native membrane that can evoke an immune response .
Our pilot study represents a step forward in deriving clinically relevant bioactive scaffolds in the form of decellularised pleural patches that find their application in pulmonary medicine .
Postgraduate Conference 2021 Page 42