Abstract: To study situation of growing trachea inserted with self expandable metal stents and provide the base of treating stenosis of trachea in childhood with the stents, stents of different tension being inserted into tracheas of two groups of piglets. The symptoms of the animals, the changing diameters of tracheas and stents, and the appearance of gross specimen and histopathology were observed. All, excep one, the animals had little or no symptoms. Stents inserted migrated in two animals. No trachea stenosis happened in low tension stent group. Inflammation existing in trachea of low tension stent group was milder than that of middle tension stent group. There is possibility that low tension and large diameter self expandable metal stents can be used to treat the stenosis of trachea in childhood.

Key words: trachea, self-expandable metallic stent, tension