Endoscopic stenting for stenosing cancer and digestive canal structures

Background. The purpose of the work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the endoscopic stenting method in stenosing cancer and strictures of the digestive tract. Materials and methods. Since January 2015, endoscopic stenting has been performed in 12 patients using self-expanding nitinol stents with/without polymer coating manufactured by Boston Scientific, Ltd (USA) and uncoated nitinol stents manufactured by Garson (Korea). The study included 8 men (66.7 %) and 4 women (33.3 %) aged 51–80 years, (63.0 ± 4.2) years on average. Stenosing esophageal cancer was diagnosed in 5 patients, stenosing cancer of the gastric outlet — in 3, stenosing duodenal cancer — in one, esophageal stricture — in 3 people. In all patients, the indication for stenting was impaired patency of the digestive tract due to the underlying di-sease. Results. Nutrition was restored in all patients. In the group of stenosing esophageal cancer, the 30-day mortality rate was 20 %, the median survival rate was 9 months. Recurrence of dysphagia was diagnosed in one person, recanalization of the stent lumen was performed. In the group with stenosing cancer of the gastric outlet and duodenum, the 30-day mortality rate was 33.3 %, the median survival rate was 11 months. Impaired gastric emptying was detected in one patient, repeated stent-to-stent stenting was performed. In the group with esophageal stricture, one individual had stent migration, so the stent was repositioned. Conclusions. Endoscopic stenting with self-expanding nitinol stents in incu­rable patients with malignant stenoses of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum and in those with benign esophageal strictures is the surgery of choice, a safe and effective method that allows you to restore and continue natural nutrition and thereby improve the quality of life in incurable cases. Complications arising in the late period after stenting were found in 25 % of patients, and were corrected endoscopically.

Features of endobiliary stenting in unresectable tumors in the hepatopancreatoduodenal zone

Aim. Optimization of endobiliary stenting in patients with unresectable tumors of the organs in the hepatopancreatoduodenal zone, improving the prevention of complications, improving the immediate results of treatment and the quality of patient’s life.Material and methods. From 2011 to 2020, 47 patients with unresectable tumors in the hepatopancreatoduodenal zone underwent endoscopic transpapillary stenting of the common bile duct for obstructive jaundice. A plastic stent was used in 28 patients, and a self-expanding nitinol stent in 19 patients. The results of endobiliary stenting, complications, efficacy and safety of stenting, side effects, quality of biliary tract decompression were evaluated.Results. All patients were perform stenting of the common bile duct. Two complications were recorded during endoscopic transpapillary stenting: bleeding from the area of the major duodenal papilla, which was stopped endoscopically. In the immediate postoperative period – stent displacement was noted in 3 patients, blockage of the stent – in 2 cases, acute post-manipulative pancreatitis – in 1 case, cholangitis — in 2 patients. Satisfactory decompression of the biliary tract was achieved in 44 from 47 patients. There was 1 death.Conclusion. Endoscopic transpapillary stenting of the common bile duct is a low-traumatic, safe and effective method of biliary decompression for tumor obstructive jaundice. Plastic stents should be used for biliary drainage with a life expectancy of ≤6 months. Self-expanding nitinol stents with full or partial coverage is the best chose for life expectancy > 6 months.

Three-Year Clinical Outcomes Following Implantation of LifeStent Self-Expanding Nitinol Stents in Patients With Femoropopliteal Artery Lesions

The aim of this study was to evaluate midterm clinical outcomes after implantation of LifeStent self-expanding nitinol stents for the treatment of femoropopliteal lesions. This retrospective, multicenter, non-randomized study examined 260 femoropopliteal lesions in 250 consecutive patients with peripheral artery disease implanted with LifeStents from April 2016 to April 2017. The prevalence of chronic total occlusion (CTO), lesion length ≥25 cm, and distal reference vessel diameter (RVD) <5 mm was 58%, 35%, and 50%, respectively. The 3-year restenosis rate in the overall population was estimated to be 72.9% and a major adverse limb event was observed in 36.9%. Multivariate analysis revealed that chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) (odds ratio [OR]: 8.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.86–34.7), CTO (OR: 4.87; 95% CI: 1.43–16.6), lesion length ≥25 cm (OR: 5.95; 95% CI: 1.11–32.0), and distal RVD <5 mm (OR: 4.43; 95% CI: 1.34–14.6) were independent risk factors for 3-year restenosis. The present study demonstrated the midterm clinical outcomes and risk factors for restenosis after implantation of the LifeStent in femoropopliteal artery lesions. CLTI, CTO, lesion length ≥25 cm, and distal RVD <5 mm predicted decreased patency after a 3-year follow-up.

Common Femoral Artery Stenting: Computed Tomography Angiography Based Long-Term Patency

Background: Despite considerable morbid-mortality rates, common femoral endarterectomy is still considered the gold standard for atherosclerotic common femoral artery (CFA) disease. The aim of this study was to demonstrate computed tomography angiography based long-term patency after CFA stent placement and to analyze associated risk factors for restenosis. Methods: A retrospective and observational study was carried out in consecutive patients treated with endovascular stent placement in CFA lesions. A clinical follow-up and imaging study was performed using MD-CTA to assess different degrees of in stent restenosis (ISR) and primary, assisted, and secondary patency rates. Results: In a 5-year period, 35 extremities were treated in 33 patients with self-expandable nitinol stents. The technical success was 100% without complications related to the procedure. The mean follow-up (FU) was 32.2 months, and 8 limbs were lost. The degree of CFA stenosis was reduced from 79.69 ± 26.47% to 11.23 ± 24.53%. ISR < 20%, 20–70%, and ≥ 70% was evident in 15 (55.6%), 9 (33.3%), and 3 (11.1%) limbs, respectively. Estimated primary, assisted, and secondary patency was 79.5, 96.3, and 96.3%, respectively, after 24 months and 79.5, 96.3, and 96.3%, respectively after 60 months, with a freedom of clinical driven target lesion revascularisation rate of 87.8%. Conclusion: Endovascular treatment with self-expandable nitinol stents in CFA lesions had a high technical success rate and was related to few complications. A mild form of intimal hyperplasia was observed in a considerable number of cases. However, long-term patency was high; therefore, CFA stent placement might be a suitable therapeutic alternative in selected patients.

Drug-Loaded, Polyurethane Coated Nitinol Stents for the Controlled Release of Docetaxel for the Treatment of Oesophageal Cancer

For several decades, self-expanding metal stents (SEMSs) have shown significant clinical success in the palliation of obstructive metastatic oesophageal cancer. However, these conventional oesophageal stents can suffer from stent blockage caused by malignant tumour cell growth. To overcome this challenge, there is growing interest in drug-releasing stents that, in addition to palliation, provide a sustained and localized release of anticancer drugs to minimise tumour growth. Therefore, in this study we prepared and evaluated an oesophageal stent-based drug delivery platform to provide the sustained release of docetaxel (DTX) for the treatment of oesophageal cancer-related obstructions. The DTX-loaded oesophageal stents were fabricated via dip-coating of bare nitinol stents with DTX-polyurethane (PU) solutions to provide PU coated stents with DTX loadings of 1.92 and 2.79% w/w. Mechanical testing of the DTX-PU coated stents revealed that an increase in the drug loading resulted in a reduction in the ultimate tensile strength, toughness and Young’s modulus. In vitro release studies showed a sustained release of DTX, with ~80–90% released over a period of 33 days. While the DTX-loaded stents exhibited good stability to gamma radiation sterilisation, UV sterilisation or accelerated storage at elevated temperatures (40 °C) resulted in significant DTX degradation. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and Western blotting assays revealed that the DTX released from the stents had comparable anticancer activity to pure DTX against oesophageal cancer cells (KYSE-30). This research demonstrates that the dip-coating technique can be considered as a promising approach for the fabrication of drug-eluting stents (DESs) for oesophageal cancer treatment.