FULLY COVERED SELF-EXPANDABLE METAL STENT PLACEMENT FOR PREOPERATIVE BILIARY DRAINAGE IN PANCREATIC CANCER PATIENTS

Abstract

Recently endoscopic placement of self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) has emerged as a safe and effective method of biliary drainage before surgery in pancreatic cancer patients. The current standard of care is to offer neoadjuvant therapy to patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. To achieve safe neoadjuvant treatment prior to surgery, pancreatic cancer patients with obstructive jaundice require biliary decompression. In general, fully covered SEMS (FCSEMS) were introduced to overcome tumor ingrowth, which is the main cause of stent dysfunction when using uncovered SEMS. FCSEMS have higher migration rates than uncovered SEMS but are easy to remove.

We here describe tips and the technique of FCSEMS placement for biliary drainage before surgery in pancreatic cancer patients.