The use of self-expandable metallic stents in the airways in the adult population.
The airway stents restore patency in the face of luminal compromise from intrinsic and/or extrinsic pathologies. Luminal compromise beyond 50% often leads to debilitating symptoms such as dyspnea. Silicone stents remain the most commonly placed stents worldwide and have been the "gold standard" for the treatment of benign and malignant airway stenoses over the past 20 years. Nevertheless, silicone stents are not the ideal stents in all situations. Metallic stents can serve better in some selected conditions. Unlike silicone stents, there are large and increasing varieties of metallic stents available on the market. The lack of prospective or comparative studies between various types of metallic stents makes the choice difficult and expert-opinion based. International guidelines are sorely lacking in this area.
North University Hospital, Thoracic Oncology, Pleural Diseases and Interventional Pulmonology, Marseille, 13015 France.
Herve
H
Dutau
Ali I
AI
Musani
Jerome
J
Plojoux
Sophie
S
Laroumagne
Philippe
P
Astoul
D000328:Adult; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D004106:Dilatation; D006801:Humans; D008670:Metals; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D008670:Metals