title: Newly designed "pieced" stent in a rabbit model of benign esophageal stricture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate a newly designed stent and its dilatation effect in a rabbit model of benign esophageal stricture.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four New Zealand white rabbits underwent a corrosive injury in the middle esophagus for esophageal stricture formation. Thirty rabbits with a successful formation of esophageal strictures were randomly allocated into two groups. The control group (n = 15) was implanted with a conventional stent, and the study group (n = 15) was implanted with a detachable "pieced" stent. The study stent (30 mm in length, 10 mm in diameter) was composed of three covered metallic pieces connected by surgical suture lines. The stent was collapsed by pulling the suture lines out of the mesh. Two weeks after stricture formation, endoscopic placement of a conventional stent or the new stent was performed. Endoscopic extraction was carried out four weeks later. The extraction rate, ease of extraction, migration, complications, and survival were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stent migration occurred in 3/15 (20%) animals in the control group and 2/15 (13%) animals in the study group; the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. At the end of four weeks, the remaining stents were successfully extracted with the endoscope in 100% (11/11) of the animals in the study group, and 60% (6/10) of the animals in the control group; this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was no difference in the mean number of follow-up days between the control and study groups (25.33 vs 25.85). Minor bleeding was reported in five cases in the study group and four in the control group. There were no severe complications directly associated with stent implantation or extraction in either of the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this experimental protocol of benign esophageal strictures, the novel "pieced" stent demonstrated a superior removal rate with a similar migration rate compared to a conventional stent.
authors.affiliation: Jin Liu, Ji-Yong Liu, Cheng-Yong Qin, Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Jin Liu, Ji-Yong Liu, Cheng-Yong Qin, Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Jin Liu, Ji-Yong Liu, Cheng-Yong Qin, Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Ji-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Jin Liu, Ji-Yong Liu, Cheng-Yong Qin, Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Yong
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys; D000818:Animals; D002057:Burns, Chemical / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D020878:Device Removal; D004106:Dilatation / Q000295:instrumentation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004940:Esophageal Stenosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004945:Esophagoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004947:Esophagus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D009532:Nickel; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D011817:Rabbits; D011859:Radiography; D012972:Sodium Hydroxide; D015607:Stents / Q000009:adverse effects; D013536:Suture Techniques; D013997:Time Factors; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D012972:Sodium Hydroxide; D009532:Nickel; D014025:Titanium
keywords: Animal experimentation; Detachable “pieced” stent; Endoscopic procedure; Esophageal stricture; Stent removal