Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026
Design of a Biocompatible Drug-Eluting Tracheal Stent in Mice with Laryngotracheal Stenosis
Published on: January 21, 2020
A prospective randomised multicentre trial comparing 10 Fr Teflon Tannenbaum stents with 10 Fr polyethylene
R E England1, D F Martin, J Morris
1Department of Radiology, South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, Withington, Nell Lane, Manchester M20 2LR, UK.
Background:
Stent blockage is a multifactorial process in which stent design and materials, bacteria, proteins, and bile viscosity play a role.
Aims:
To compare the patency of the 10 Fr Teflon Tannenbaum (TT) stent to that of the 10 Fr Cotton-Leung (CL) polyethylene stent with sideholes, in patients with malignant obstructive jaundice.
Methods:
Patients were recruited to this prospective multicentre randomised study if they had a newly diagnosed malignant bile duct stricture below the hilum of the liver suitable for stenting with a 10 Fr stent. Data were collected and monitored by a professional monitoring company. Primary patency was the interval between stent placement and first exchange or death without recurrent jaundice.
Results:
134 consecutive patients were recruited between November 1994 and June 1997; 65 were randomised to the TT stent and 69 to the CL stent. Median patency and 95% confidence intervals were 181 (59, 303) days for the TT stent and 133 (92, 174) days for the CL stent, with no significant difference between the two stents (p=0.49). Median survival and 95% confidence intervals were 115 (71, 159) days for the TT stent and 151 (112, 190) days for the CL stent, with no significant difference between the two stents (p=0.765).
Conclusion:
Neither Teflon as a stent material nor the Tannenbaum design prolong the patency of plastic stents.
