Expandable endoprostheses for gastrointestinal stenoses

Expandable endoprostheses have the theoretic advantage of placement into strictures that have previously been considered inaccessible because of acute angulation or anatomic constraint. Moreover, their placement through small diameter insertion catheters has the potential to minimize tissue trauma associated with rapid dilation and to improve placement accuracy. With few exceptions, data using these systems remain sparse, however. The stents are expensive and variably imbed into local tissue, and the prostheses and their delivery systems alike continue to undergo refinement.