Dilation of benign strictures in the esophagus and colon with the polyflex stent: a case series study

Polyflex, a new self-expanding plastic stent (SEPS), is increasingly used to treat obstructions in the gastrointestinal tract. The majority of reports on Polyflex come from tertiary referral centers. This retrospective study describes the efficacy and safety of this new SEPS for the treatment of benign strictures in esophagus and colon and its use in a community hospital. Seven patients were treated from August 2003 through December 2006. All of them presented with severe strictures, and were treated with Polyflex insertion. Four patients had esophageal obstructions (three peptic, one postoperative) and the remaining three patients had postoperative strictures in the rectosigmoid. One patient had a coexisting fistula. Two strictures (one esophageal and another colonic, both postoperative) received the Polyflex as the first line of treatment, without previous sessions of dilation. Esophageal strictures were solved after several consecutive SEPS insertions. Migrated stents were easily extracted from the stomach. On the other hand, colonic strictures achieved permanent dilation with a single stent. The patient with coexisting stricture and fistula became asymptomatic and still had the SEPS in place after four months. The one complication was mild pain after insertion. Polyflex seems to be a useful tool in the dilation of severe benign strictures in esophagus and rectosigmoid and, as in large centers, good results are achieved in a community hospital.