Self-expanding metal stents in gastrointestinal interventional radiology: technical problems.

Aims and background: To analyze the procedural difficulties In the placement of metal stents in stenoses of the digestive tract and optimize the technique. Methods: Twenty-nine patients with digestive tract stenoses were treated from January 1999 to December 2004. In 14 cases the stricture was anastomotic (9 colorectal, 3 esophageal, 1 gastroesophageal and 1 gastrojejunal), in 13 esophageal, in 1 gastric and in 1 duodenal. The stenosis was due to scarring in 5 patients and was malignant in 24 patients (primary in 17 cases and secondary in 7 cases). Results: The procedure achieved technical success in all cases but 2. For each of the different segments the technical difficulties and the adopted procedural solutions were analyzed. Conclusions: The interventional radiology approach yielded results comparable to those reported for the endoscopic method and was always well tolerated. The need to rely on materials mostly designed for endoscopic use can make radiological use difficult in some cases.