title: History of the Use of Esophageal Stent in Management of Dysphagia and Its Improvement Over the Years.
abstract: The art and science of using stents to treat dysphagia and seal fistula, leaks and perforations has been evolving. Lessons learnt from the deficiencies of previous models led to several improvements making stent deployment easier, and with some designs, it was also possible to remove the stents if needed. With these improvements, besides malignant dysphagia, newer indications for using stents emerged. Unfortunately, despite several decades of evolution, as yet, there is no perfect stent that "fits all." This article is an overview of how this evolution process happened and where we are currently with using stents to manage patients with dysphagia and with other esophageal disorders.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Hospital, 9200, West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA. kdua@mcw.edu.
authors.forename: Kulwinder S
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0460-5595
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Dua
mesh_terms: D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000266:history* / Q000601:surgery; D004947:Esophagus / Q000601:surgery; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D015607:Stents / Q000266:history*
keywords: Deglutition; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal leak, fistula, perforation; Esophageal stents; Swallowing; Variceal bleeding, esophageal regeneration