Stents for colonic strictures; Materials, Designs, and more

Colonic obstruction is one of the common manifestations of colon cancer. Historically, the treatment of malignant colonic obstruction consisted of surgical removal of the obstructing tumor, if possible, and decompression of the bowel with an ostomy. Self- expandable metal stents (SEMS) have now been used effectively for non-surgical relief of malignant colonic obstruction, either for palliative care or as a bridge to elective surgery. Since the SEMS insertion technique was introduced in the early 1990s, multiple studies and reports have been published on the outcomes of SEMS in treating large bowel obstruction.
Source: Techniques in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Source Type: research