History of the Use of Esophageal Stent in Management of Dysphagia and Its Improvement Over the Years

Abstract

The art and science of using stents to treat dysphagia and seal fistula, leaks and perforations has been evolving. Lessons learnt from the deficiencies of previous models led to several improvements making stent deployment easier, and with some designs, it was also possible to remove the stents if needed. With these improvements, besides malignant dysphagia, newer indications for using stents emerged. Unfortunately, despite several decades of evolution, as yet, there is no perfect stent that "fits all." This article is an overview of how this evolution process happened and where we are currently with using stents to manage patients with dysphagia and with other esophageal disorders.

Keywords: Deglutition; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal leak, fistula, perforation; Esophageal stents; Swallowing; Variceal bleeding, esophageal regeneration.