Medium-term follow-up after deployment of ultraflex expandable metallic stents to manage endobronchial pathology

Between March 1997 and March 2004 we deployed 80 Ultraflex metallic expandable stents (Boston Scientific, Waterson, MA) in 69 patients under direct vision using rigid bronchoscopy. We report our medium- to long-term experience in patients for whom these stents were deployed.

To date 15 patients have been followed for more than 1 year (median 41 months, range 12 to 83 months) after stent deployment. Indications for stenting in these patients were neoplasia (5), stricture (5), airway malacia (1), iatrogenic tracheal tear (1), and compression from an aortic aneurysm (1), a right interrupted aortic arch (1), and a right brachiocephalic artery aneurysm with tracheomalacia (1). Ten tracheal stents (9 covered, 1 uncovered) and 10 bronchial stents (8 uncovered, 2 covered) were inserted, and 5 patients received two stents.

Five of these patients experienced no long-term problems. Complications included troublesome halitosis (5), which was difficult to treat despite various antibiotic regimes; granulation tissue formation above and below the stent that was successfully treated with low-power Nd:YAG laser therapy (7); and metal fatigue (1). We did not encounter stent migration.

We conclude that Ultraflex expandable metallic stents have an important role in the management of selected patients with diverse endobronchial pathologies and are well tolerated in the long-term. Although associated granulation tissue can be successfully treated with Nd:YAG laser, halitosis can be a difficult problem to address.