AIM To present a series of covered self-expandable metal stents (CSEMS) placed for different indications and to evaluate the effectiveness, complications and extractability of these devices. METHODS We therefore retrospectively reviewed the courses of patients who received CSEMS due to malignant as well as benign biliary strictures and post-sphincterotomy bleeding in our endoscopic unit betwe...

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) stents are increasingly being used to manage upper GI obstructions. Initially developed for palliative treatment of esophageal cancer, upper GI stents now play an emerging role in benign strictures of the upper GI tract. Because recurrent obstruction and stent-related complications are common, new modifications of stents have been implemented. Self-expandable metal s...

Bare metal stents have a proven safety record, but limited long-term efficacy due to in-stent restenosis. First-generation drug-eluting stents successfully countered the restenosis rate, but were hampered by concerns about their long-term safety. Second generation drug-eluting stents have combined the low restenosis rate of the first generation with improved long-term safety. We review the evol...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In carotid artery stent placement, marked oversizing of the stent relative to the internal carotid artery lumen is common. This study was performed to determine the influence of using oversized self-expanding nitinol stents on neointimal hyperplasia. METHODS In six greyhound dogs, 24 self-expanding nitinol stents (eight SMART stents, eight Easy Wallstents, eight Sinus-F...

Stent placement is an essential treatment for airway diseases. Although self-expandable metallic stents and silicone stents are commonly applied for the treatment of airway diseases, these stents are unsuitable for the treatment of small airway diseases encountered in pediatric patients and lung transplant recipients with airway complications. Currently, only vascular balloon-expandable metalli...

double-j (dj) stents are the main tools used in urological practice for prevention and treatment of obstruction. stenting is also mandatory after complicated ureteroscopy or tul (transureteral lithotripsy). known complications are upper migration of dj stents into the kidney and lower migration to the bladder. in a man with an impacted right lower ureteral stone, a dj stent was placed because t...

BACKGROUND Several observational reports have documented both increased and decreased cardiac mortality or Q-wave myocardial infarction with drug-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents. METHODS We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents early after intervention (<1 year) and late (>1 year) among a broad population of patients, ...

BACKGROUND Sirolimus-eluting stents have been developed to prevent restenosis in the treatment of coronary artery disease. We investigated the risk of restenosis with use of sirolimus-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents to assess possible differences. METHODS We enrolled 352 patients in whom one coronary artery required treatment, with diameter 2.5-3.0 mm and lesion length 15-32 mm...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the intermediate-term outcomes of patients with unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis who were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention in Hong Kong. DESIGN Historical cohort. SETTING A regional hospital in Hong Kong. PATIENTS Patients with unprotected left main coronary artery disease undergoing stenting with bare-metal stents or drug-eluting stents ...

BACKGROUND Previous reports have suggested higher procedural and long-term complications among patients treated with multiple stents for diffuse lesions and/or long dissections. METHODS AND RESULTS To evaluate procedural success, major complications, and clinical outcomes (> or = 1 year) in a consecutive series of patients treated with multiple (> or = 3) contiguous stents in single lesions, ...