Expandable Stents for Malignant Dysphagia

Esophageal carcinoma is a common disorder with an overall 5-year survival rate of only 13%. Since most patients with incurable esophageal cancers live approximately six months, the main goal of treatment remains palliative relief of dysphagia and closure of tracheoesophageal fistulae (if present), while maintaining adequate peroral nutrition and quality of life. Endoluminal stenting is now considered to be the most effective and widely adopted method of palliation. Self-expanding metal stents (SEMSs) and self-expanding plastic stents (SEPSs) are easily deployed and highly effective in rapidly improving dysphagia and in sealing tracheoesophageal fistulae. Stents have been shown to be extremely useful for palliating malignant dysphagia resulting from primary esophageal tumors as well as from extraesophageal malignancies that cause external compression at any level of the esophagus. This article reviews endoscopic techniques of self-expanding esophageal stent placement in the treatment of malignant dysphagia.