Cell Therapy for Upper Respiratory Tract Fistulas

Fistulas of various etiologies are one of the severe and life-threatening diseases of the upper respiratory tract. The most common cause is bronchial stump failure after pulmonary resection, usually pneumonectomy. The incidence and mortality of this complication is 3 %-4 % and 12.5 %-71.2 %, respectively. Despite the fact that many devices and methods have been described to date, it is usually treated with surgical closure. Standard surgical approaches are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and are not reliably successful. In recent years, cell therapies aimed to stimulate tissue healing rose to prominence and can be considered a potential treatment method. We review current trends in bronchopleural fistula treatment using cell therapy and report cases of the bronchopleural fistula treatment according to the research protocol developed in our clinic. Although clinical experience is quite limited owing to a small number of patients in the most studies, the information on safety and tolerance can help plan future larger trials with innovative methods to further improve clinical results.