Self-Expanding Metal Stent (SEMS) insertion: Fluoroscopy versus pure endoscopic technique - A cost comparison

Oesophageal cancer is a disease with significant morbidity and mortality, and in South Africa most patients present with advanced disease.1 Self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) are now widely used in the palliation of oesophageal cancer, and in most institutions SEMS are deployed under fluoroscopic guidance. In our institution, we use an exclusive endoscopic deployment technique which is comparable to the traditional fluoroscopic technique in terms of safety and efficacy.2-4 We undertook a study to compare the two techniques with respect to their time- and cost-effectiveness.