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Updated: May 21, 2026

An Ivor Lewis Esophagectomy Designed to Minimize Anastomotic Complications and Optimize Conduit Function
Published on: April 17, 2020
Esophageal stent migration can lead to intestinal obstruction
Oguzhan Karatepe1, Ersin Acet, Merih Altiok
1Department of General Surgery, Okmeydaný Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Background:
Self-expanding metallic stents are the devices of choice in the treatment of malign or benign strictures of the esophagus. Stent migration is a well-known complication of this procedure.
Aims:
We report a case of intestinal obstruction caused by esophageal stent migration, in which surgical intervention was used.
Methods:
A 65-year-old woman, who had a medical history of gastric cancer operations and esophageal stent applications, was admitted to our emergency department with a 48-hour history of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. An emergency laparotomy was performed and the migrated stent causing intestinal obstruction was removed.
Results:
The patient recovered without incident and was discharged on postoperative day 3.
Conclusion:
This case illustrates that esophageal stent migration has to be considered as a potential life-threatening complication.
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