Esophageal variceal bleeding is a serious complication of portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients. Current treatment approach consists of band ligation and sclerotherapy. More than 10% of variceal bleedings are refractory to standard treatments and have a higher mortality rate. In this study, we aimed to share our experiences regarding covered self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) as a bridging t...

Palliative drainage is the main treatment option for inoperable hilar cholangiocarcinoma to improve symptoms, which include cholangitis, pruritus, high-grade jaundice, and abdominal pain. Although there is no consensus on the optimal method for biliary drainage due to the paucity of large-scale randomized control studies, several important aspects of any optimal method have been studied. In thi...

OBJECTIVES Several endoscopic techniques have been proposed for the management of post-sphincterotomy bleeding. Lately, self-expandable metal stents deployment has gained popularity especially as a rescue therapy when other endoscopic techniques fail. METHODS-RESULTS We report the case report of a massive post-sphincterotomy bleeding in a patient with a self-expandable metal stent in the bili...

INTRODUCTION Self-expandable metal and plastic stents can be applied in the palliative endoscopic treatment of patients with unresectable malignant biliary obstruction. The use of metal stentsis recommended if the patient's life expectancy is more than four months. AIM To compare the therapeutic efficacy and cost-effectiveness of metal and plastic stents in the treatment of malignant biliary ...

Management of benign biliary stricture remains a challenge for both surgeons and therapeutic endoscopists. Traditionally, surgery is considered the mainstay of treatment, but it is associated with significant morbidity and variable long-term outcome. With advances in endoscopic techniques and accessories, endoscopic management is emerging as an effective option. Outcome of endoscopic management...

BACKGROUND Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) can occur with locally invasive or metastatic cancer involving the upper gastrointestinal tract at the pylorus or the duodenum. Endoscopic management with self-expanding metal stents (SEMSs) is often the preferred palliative approach. Stent occlusion is a common reason for failure and reintervention. We set out to determine whether the location of the...

Biliary metal stents are a permanent solution for bile duct stenosis. Complications can arise when the stent migrates, breaks or is overgrown by tumour. The following case demonstrates how a Nd:YAG laser can be used to solve these problems. A 93-year-old man presented with jaundice and fever. Two years earlier a 6-cm metal stent had been implanted into a postinflammatory stenosis of the common ...

AIM To compare clinical success and complications of uncovered self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) vs covered SEMS (cSEMS) in obstruction of the small bowel. METHODS Technical success, complications and outcome of endoscopic SEMS or cSEMS placement in tumor related obstruction of the duodenum or jejunum were retrospectively assessed. The primary end points were rates of stent migration and ove...

A 47-year-old woman developed a large area of anastomotic dehiscence (●" Fig.1a) 3months after sleeve gastrectomy for obesity. A 15-cm fully covered self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) was deployed to cover the anastomotic leak, as a bridge to surgery. This was anchored to the esophageal wall byendosuture (●" Fig.1b). Thepatient presented again 6 weeks later with distal SEMSmigration through the ...

Intimal hyperplasia (IH) is a leading cause of obstruction of vascular interventions, including arterial stents, bypass grafts and arteriovenous grafts and fistulae. Proposals to account for arterial stent-associated IH include wall damage, low wall shear stress (WSS), disturbed flow and, although not widely recognized, wall hypoxia. The common non-planarity of arterial geometry and flow, led u...