[The intratracheal behavior of the ear-composite graft. An experimental and histological study (author's transl)].

The behavior of the composite graft obtained from the concha of the external ear is studied in mini-pigs, 25, 35, 46 and 85 days following transplantation into the tracheal wall by light- and electromicroscopy. The squameous cell epithelium persists to the same extent, but its thickness has decreased as well as desquamation by adaption to the intratracheal conditions. The transplanted cartilage started degeneration in the 4th postoperative week by a slowly and continous transformation into a granulating and fibrous tissue.