Clinical application of decellularized and lyophilized human amnion/chorion membrane grafts for closing post‐laryngectomy pharyngocutaneous fistulas

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common pathological type among the cancers of the larynx. Standard treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx is the combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and laryngectomy. Pharyngocutaneous fistula is a common complication of laryngectomy. We hypothesized that decellularized and lyophilized human amnion/chorion membrane can be an effective, non-invasive method of treating pharyngocutaneous fistula. METHODS A total of 67 patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed after treatment in a prospective trial. After preoperative chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and total or extended laryngectomy, primary wound healing occurred in 42 (62.7%) patients. Pharyngocutaneous fistula developed in 8 (11.9%) patients. Decellularized and lyophilized human amnion/chorion membrane grafts were used to reconstruct the fistulas. RESULTS The average time for the full healing of the wound in all patients after transplantation of these grafts was 18 days. CONCLUSION The advantages of using these grafts over other existing methods of pharyngocutaneous fistula treatment are that they are non-invasive, prevent donor morbidity, and enable management of the wound without using classical wound gauze. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;113:538-543. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.