Our experience with the use of a plastic prosthesis and self-expanding stents in the palliative treatment of malignant neoplastic stenoses of the esophagus and cardia. Comparative analysis of results

Rapid palliation of malignant dysphagia is usually possible by means of the endoscopic implantation of a plastic prosthesis, but this device has a high morbidity rate. Recently, expandable metal stents have become available and may reduce the morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate self-expanding metal stents compared with conventional plastic prosthesis in malignant strictures of the oesophagus and cardia. One hundred and thirteen endoscopic tube implantations were carried out in 120 patients with malignant stenosis of the oesophagus and cardia using a plastic prosthesis over the period 1980-1993 (72 cases) and self-expanding metal stents over the period 1993-2001 (48 cases). The underlying causes of strictures were oesophageal or cardial cancer in 108 cases and oesophageal invasion by lung cancer in 12. The indications for endoscopic intubation were advanced tumour stage and/or risk factors which made resection inadvisable. The stents used in the conventional group were the Celestin pulsion tube in 18, the Atkinson prosthesis in 23 and the Wilson-Cook tube in 27, while the Ultraflex stent was always employed in the other group. Dysphagia was scored according to the Atkinson and Ferguson classification and the preoperative median score (3.6) was comparable in the two groups. The technical success rate was 94.4% with the plastic prosthesis (68/72) and 93.7% with the self-expanding metal stents (45/48) because in 4 and 3 patients, respectively, it proved impossible to implant the stent. After intubation the dysphagia score was improved in both groups (median score = 0.9) and the functional success rates were 85.2% (58/68) and 88.8% (40/45), respectively, while 10 and 5 patients showed no improvement of symptoms. The early complication rate was 5.9% (4/68) in the conventional stent group (1 perforation, 2 severe bleedings and 1 stent proximal migration) and nil in the other group. Late complications occurred in 14 (20.6%) (7 food obstruction, 4 neoplastic obstructions and 3 dislodgements) and 9 patients (20%) (3 neoplastic obstructions, 1 food obstruction, 3 distal migrations and 2 bleedings), respectively, but all the complications were easily corrected. Three deaths occurred with the plastic prosthesis (4.4%), while the mortality was nil with the metal stents. The median survival times were 183 (range: 58-486) and 151 days (range; 25-545), respectively. Our experience suggests that endoscopic placement of self-expanding metal stents is effective and safe for the management of dysphagia in malignant strictures of the oesophagus and cardia and has to be preferred to conventional plastic prostheses for easier implantation. The technical and functional success rates are similar in both groups, but the acute complication and mortality rates of the Ultraflex prosthesis are lower as compared to the traditional prosthesis.