Implantation of Silmet Stents for Malignant Airway Stenosis

Abstract

Background. Recently, airway stents can be classified into two types, metallic and silicone. Metallic stents are simple to place however, disadvantages such as stent removal, replacement, and the deterioration of longterm placements are present. In contrast, silicone stents have a higher endurance and stent removal is relatively safe. Rigid bronchoscopy proficiency needs to be high, which can only be achieved through experience. The Silmet stent, a hybrid, both metallic and silicone combined, prove advantageous as unique properties from each make a more superior stent. The Silmet stent will promise for benign stenosis in the future. Patients. The average age is 64.8 years old (48-85). In 9 cases, all primary disease was malignant. Methods. Stenting was performed using general anesthesia in operating rooms. Four cases used laryngeal mask intubations. Results. No complications occurred during stenting, but post-stenting complications such as obstructive pneumonia (1), restenosis from granulations at both ends of the stent (2) occurred. In 1 case, stent removal was possible after radio-chemotherapy. Conclusion. In this study on the Silmet stent, we demonstrated that patients were relieved from dyspnea with minimal complications.