Porous Bidirectional Bellowed Tracheal Reconstruction Device

An implantable splinting device for supporting a defect in a passageway of a human or other animal subject comprising:

• one or more support structures together defining a structural component that substantially conforms to at least a portion of the passageway and a plurality of apertures defined in at least a portion of the one or more support structures, wherein the one or more support structures comprise a biomedically acceptable polymeric material, so that the structural component is capable of restricting displacement to less than 10% under a direct compression load of about SON, while permitting outward radial displacement of at least 100% of an initial diameter of the structural component under non-stress conditions under a radial pressure of about SON.

A method of making an implantable splinting device for application to a defect in a passageway of a human or other animal subject comprising:

• forming a biomedically acceptable polymeric material into a U-shaped structural component comprising a plurality of apertures and a plurality of bellows, wherein the U-shaped structural component substantially conforms to at least a portion of the passageway selected from the group consisting of a trachea, a bronchi, an esophagus and a blood vessel.