Surgeons in Russia have successfully transplanted a completely synthetic chunk of the larynx. The operation, which has been performed in two patients, is the first step towards creating an entire synthetic voicebox. The transplanted synthetic part, about 5 centimetres long, consists of a section of the windpipe, or trachea, at the top of which is a version of the cricoid arch and plate – a hollow, collar-like segment that forms the base of the larynx.
