Intratracheal stent: prosthesis or orthesis?

In recent years, in our outpatient treatment of tracheal diseases, we have observed an increase in the number of patients presenting long stenoses or other clinical conditions that preclude their becoming candidates for surgery. The silicone Ttube stent and other intratracheal devices, made of silicone or of metal alloy (self-expanding stents), have been designed in order to meet the treatment needs of this population of patients. With this increased demand, physician experience with the use of these devices has also increased, as has, consequently, the number of questions regarding the various models, as well as regarding when and how they should be used. Despite this intellectual effervescence, there is little data on this theme in the Brazilian literature. We have noted that bas ic quest ions, such as the terminology involved, have yet to be resolved. In English, such devices are referred to as 'prostheses' or ‘stents'. However, in Portuguese, there is some disagreement among specialists regarding the correct designation, the question being whether they should be referred to as próteses (protheses) or órteses (ortheses). During our quest to find the most appropriate term, we came across the highly interesting work of Joffre Rezende, Professor Emeritus at the Federal University of Goiás and author of the book entitled Linguagem Médica (Medical Language).(1) We found that this same uncertainty also afflicts other specialties, and Prof. Rezende has written on this theme. Here is an excerpt: Intratracheal stent: prosthesis or orthesis?