Do Expandable Metallic Airway Stents Have a Role in the Management of Patients With Benign Tracheobronchial Disease?

Endobronchial metallic stents should be considered only for selected patients with large airway compromise secondary to benign airway diseases for whom other medical comorbidities contraindicate formal airway surgery. Once deployed, they are difficult to remove, are associated with significant complications, and require prospective bronchoscopic surveillance and often further therapeutic intervention.