The Tannenbaum stent: a new plastic biliary stent without side holes.
OBJECTIVE
Clogging of plastic biliary stents used in malignant biliary obstruction remains a major problem. In vitro studies have shown that side holes, a standard feature of commercially available stents, may contribute to stent clogging. In a pilot study, we designed and prospectively evaluated a new biliary stent without side holes (Tannenbaum stent).


METHODS
Over a 12-month period, 55 consecutive patients (mean age 75 yr) with malignant distal common bile duct obstruction and without papillary or duodenal tumor infiltration underwent endoscopic placement of the Tannenbaum stent for the palliative treatment of jaundice.


RESULTS
Tannenbaum stent insertion was technically successful on the first attempt in all patients and was accompanied by a significant reduction in mean serum bilirubin levels (10.1-1.6 mg%). Fifty-one patients were followed until death (median survival of 130 days); the symptomatic occlusion rate was 16%, the dislocation rate was 8%, and the median stent patency was 64 wk. Aside from stent clogging, there were no complications.


CONCLUSIONS
The Tannenbaum stent provided effective palliative biliary decompression in all patients. The patency rate was longer than that reported in the literature for conventional plastic stents with side holes and compared favorably with patency rates that have been reported for the metallic expandable biliary stents. The results of this pilot study are encouraging and warrant further studies.
Binmoeller
K F
KF
Department of Endoscopic Surgery, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Seitz
U
U
Seifert
H
H
Thonke
F
F
Sikka
S
S
Soehendra
N
N
D000368:Aged; D001652:Bile Ducts; D001651:Cholestasis, Extrahepatic / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D003137:Common Bile Duct Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D010166:Palliative Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015607:Stents / Q000009:adverse effects
D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene