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About Self-Expanding
Plastic Stents Used In The Treatment Of Benign Esophageal
Conditions
Esophageal stenting is a minimally invasive intervention that has
been used as a treatment for expansion of stenoses and closure of
perforations and fistulae. Self-expanding metal stents (SEMSs) are
the current endoscopic standard for palliation of dysphagia
resulting from malignant esophageal stenosis.
Self-expanding plastic stents have been proposed for use in benign
esophageal lesions because of their advantages over metallic
stents, including lower cost, ease of placement and retrieval, and
limited local tissue reaction while still providing alleviation of
dysphagia. Previous reviews of the performance of SEPSs with
limited numbers of patients have shown good success with
resolution of benign stenosis and fistulae with few adverse
effects.
Benign esophageal lesions such as strictures, perforations, and
fistulae have a significant impact on patient well-being and are
associated with the complications of malnutrition, pain,
aspiration, respiratory decline, and death.
Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, recently
examined the use of self-expanding plastic stents (SEPSs) in the
treatment of benign esophageal disease and found that use of SEPSs
resulted in frequent stent migration and few cases of long-term
improvement. They concluded that further investigation is
warranted to identify optimal patient populations and to guide
future recommendations for the use of SEPSs.
(Ref :
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/asfg-ses012508.php)
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