Fiberoptic bronchoscopic placement of self-expandable metallic airway stents for the treatment of tracheobronchial obstruction and fistulas.
Tracheobronchial stent use has been reported in the medical literature for more than 40 years. Silicone stents are the most widely used stents in therapy for varying tracheobronchial lesions at most centers. However, newer designs and modifications of stents are now available with delivery systems that have been designed to facilitate using fiberoptic bronchoscopy. We describe our initial experience placing 13 self-expandable metallic Wallstent stents, including the covered design, in a total of seven patients via a fiberoptic bronchoscope. All patients had benign or malignant obstructing lesions and one patient had an associated malignant tracheoesophageal fistula. The procedure was technically easy and was well tolerated. Following stenting there was a visible increase in airway diameter and a marked improvement in symptoms for all patients. Median survival after stent placement is currently 10 months.
Boyd
A L
AL
Lung Center, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
Brown
B R
BR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001982:Bronchial Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D001983:Bronchial Fistula / Q000628:therapy*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000628:therapy; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015607:Stents; D014133:Tracheal Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D014135:Tracheal Stenosis / Q000628:therapy*