Safety and Efficacy of Endoscopically Secured Fully Covered Self-Expandable Metallic Stents (FCSEMS) for Post-Bariatric Complex Stenosis.

BACKGROUND: The use of fully covered self-expandable metallic stents (FCSEMS) has opened the door to treat stenosis in the post-bariatric stomach. We hypothesized that endoscopically securing a FCSEMS would be technically feasible, effective, and safe for > 30-day dwell time. OBJECTIVES: To assess the technical feasibility, clinical efficacy, and safety of endoscopically secured FCSEMS in the stomach for > 30 days. METHODS: A retrospective review (September 2016 to April 2018) of consecutive patients who underwent FCSEMS suturing in the stomach at a single academic institution was reviewed. Technical success, stent dwell time, symptoms, and adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (median age of 49 (31-70)) were included. Stents were inserted for gastrojejunal (GJ) stricture or gastric stenosis in 9/15 and 6/15 of patients, respectively. All procedures were technically successful (100%). Immediate and short-term clinical success (prior to stent removal) was 100% in patients who did not have stent migration. Stent migration was seen in 3 cases (20%) after a median dwell time of 211 days. However, 2/3 (66.6%) had not attended their scheduled removal. Recurrence of symptoms after stent removal was seen in 53.3% of patients with 40% undergoing repeat stenting. Median stent dwell was 117 (30-342) days. Sixty percent and 33% of patients had stent dwell of at least 90 and 180 days, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A FCSEMS, if secured, may be safe and effective for even > 90-day dwell time in the post-bariatric stomach and may result in long-term clinical success for GJ stricture after stent removal.

Lumen-apposing covered self-expandable metal stents for short benign gastrointestinal strictures: a multicenter study.

Background and study aim Use of the fully covered self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) for benign luminal gastrointestinal (GI) stricture (BLGS) has been limited by the migration rate. The role of the lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) for BLGS is not well defined. We assessed the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of LAMS for the treatment of BLGS. Patients and methods This was an observational, open-label, retrospective, single-arm, multicenter consecutive case series of patients undergoing LAMS placement for BLGS. Technical success was defined as successful placement of the LAMS. Short- and long-term clinical success rates were defined as symptom improvement/resolution with indwelling stent and after stent removal, respectively. All adverse events and additional interventions were recorded. Results A total of 30 patients (mean age 51.6 years; 63.3 % women) underwent LAMS placement for GI strictures (83.9 % anastomotic). Median stricture diameter and length were 4.5 mm (range 2 - 10 mm) and 8 mm (range 5 - 10 mm), respectively. Technical success was achieved in 29 patients (96.7 %), with an adverse event rate of 13.3 %. The stent migration rate was 8.0 % (2/25) on follow-up endoscopy. Short-term clinical success was achieved in 90.0 % (27/30) at a median of 60 days (interquartile range [IQR] 40 - 90 days). Most patients (19/23; 82.6 %) experienced sustained symptom improvement/resolution without the need for additional interventions at a median follow-up of 100 days (IQR 60 - 139 days) after LAMS removal. Conclusion This multicenter study demonstrated that LAMS placement represents a safe, feasible, and effective therapeutic option for patients with BLGS and is associated with a low stent migration rate. Our initial findings suggest that future prospective comparative studies are needed on the use of LAMS, endoscopic dilation, and conventional SEMS. .