Advantages and Disadvantages of Tracheobronchial Stents for Tracheobronchial Stenosis

Abstract

Recently endotracheobronchial stenting have been performed for the patients with tracheobronchial stenosis as well as tracheobronchoplastic operation, laser therapy, bronchoscopic dilation with bougie and balloon. The stents mainly used are silastic stents (Dumon stent etc.) and metal stents (Gianturco stent etc.) and silicone-metal combined stents. All of them require some improvement. The silastic stents are gentle to tissue, but secretions adhered to the inside of stents. The metal stents are small before dilation and easy to insert, but tumors and granulations grow through their filaments. The authors classify the tracheobronchial stents according to shape and materials and consider the advantages, disadvantages and the features of ideal stents.