Treatment of persistent esophageal leaks in children with removable, covered stents

Removable, fully covered, expandable metal esophageal stents are routinely used in adults for both malignant and benign esophageal disease. Several case reports have demonstrated the use of these stents in the management of caustic esophageal strictures in children. Most iatrogenic esophageal perforations and esophageal anastomotic leaks in children may be expected to heal with nonoperative treatment, although, in a small percentage, the leak may persist. We report 3 patients with complicated esophageal perforations refractory to nonoperative therapy who were successfully managed using covered esophageal stents.