Chronic sinusitis and bilateral deafness as a presentation of oesophageal stent failure: case report

We report an extremely rare upper airway complication of oesophageal stent failure.

A 58-year-old woman presented four months after having a covered (anti-reflux valve type) oesophageal stent placed for a benign oesophageal stricture. Abdominal radiography showed a broken fragment at the gastroesophageal junction and another fragment in the rectum. On presentation, the patient had pneumonia with sepsis which required intensive care management. After recovery, she developed sinus symptoms of facial pain, green nasal discharge and bilateral hearing loss. ENT review revealed bilateral otitis media with effusion. Flexible naso-endoscopy found a stent fragment lodged in the nasopharynx. The wire mesh fragment was removed under general anaesthetic and bilateral grommets inserted. The patient's symptoms resolved.

To our knowledge, this is the first report in the world literature of a broken and migrated oesophageal stent presenting with chronic sinusitis and bilateral hearing loss. This case highlights the importance of examining the upper airways in such cases, and the need for further, long term studies of the complications of metallic, expandable stents.