Endoscopy 1996; 28(6): 518-520
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1005534
Case Report

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Two Cases of Fractured Esophageal Nitinol Stents

R. Schoefl1 , F. Winkelbauer2 , M. Haefner1 , R. Poetzi1 , A. Gangl1 , J. Lammer2
  • 1Dept. of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
  • 2Dept. of Interventional Radiology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Publikationsdatum:
17. März 2008 (online)

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Abstract

We report here on two cases of fractured nitinol stents in the esophagus. In case 1, the correctly inserted stent broke spontaneously shortly after insertion. In a second case, a nitinol stent broke after laser application due to tumor ingrowth with massive bleeding. In both cases, a second stent was implanted in order to reestablish food passage.

The fracture of the stent in case 1 seemed to be caused by defective material, whilst in case 2 the stent broke because of thermal overstrain during laser application. The use of electrocoagulation or laser in the stent area should therefore be avoided; argon plasma coagulation may offer an effective alternative in treating tumor ingrowth. As there was a risk from piercing broken filaments with the second stent, covering a fracture using stents with tight walls or plastic tubes seems to be a more effective approach than the inserting an uncovered stent type.