title: Use of expandable wire stents for malignant airway obstruction.
abstract: The symptoms of progressive dyspnea and stridor in the setting of malignant airway obstruction are severe and distressing. Conservative nebulizer and oxygen therapy offer little relief, and conventional stenting with T tubes requires a tracheostomy. In this article, we describe our experience with stenting in the treatment of malignant mediastinal disease using the Gianturco expanding metal-wire stents. The technique of placement is simple and the procedure was successful in all 21 cases. Relief of stridor was immediate and the dyspnea usually abated. These benefits continued through the mean survival period after stenting of 134 days (range, 2 to 799 days). The patients required only brief hospitalization (2.83 days) before returning home or to the referring institution. It appears that expandable wire stents may offer a simple yet effective intervention in the palliative treatment of mediastinal malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Glenfield General Hospital, Leicester, England.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Keal
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Leverment
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Spyt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D001982:Bronchial Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology; D013193:Stainless Steel; D015607:Stents; D015996:Survival Rate; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D013193:Stainless Steel