AJR 2002; 178:847-852
© American Roentgen Ray Society
Fluoroscopically Guided Placement of a Covered Self-Expandable Metallic Stent for Malignant Antroduodenal Obstructions
Preliminary Results in 18 Patients
Jun Yong Jeong1,2,
Joon Koo Han,
Ah Young Kim,
Kyoung Ho Lee,
Jae Young Lee,
Joon-Won Kang,
Tae Jung Kim,
Shang Hoon Shin and
Byung Ihn Choi
1
All authors: Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of
Medicine, 28 Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
2
All authors: Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University
College of Medicine, Clinical Research Institute, Seoul National University
Hospital, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
Received August 2, 2001;
accepted after revision September 21, 2001.
Supported in part by the 2000 BK21 Project for Medicine, Dentistry, and
Pharmacy.
Address correspondence to J. K. Han.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the
technical feasibility and the clinical effectiveness of fluoroscopically
guided placement of covered self-expandable metallic stents in the treatment
of malignant antroduodenal obstructions.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS. With fluoroscopic guidance, covered
self-expandable metallic stents were placed in 18 consecutive patients with
inoperable malignant antroduodenal obstructions. All patients were treated for
severe nausea and recurrent vomiting.
RESULTS. Stent placement was technically successful in all patients
with or without gastrostomy (n = 2) and balloon dilatation
(n = 3). After stent placement, symptoms improved in all but one
patient, who had another stenosis in the proximal jejunum. During the
follow-up of 2-73 weeks (mean, 12 weeks), stent migration occurred in three
patients (16.7%) from 1 to 41 days after the procedure. These patients were
treated successfully by means of placing a second covered metallic stent. Two
patients, who were followed up for longer than 30 weeks, showed a recurrence
of strictures because of mechanical failure of the stents; one of the patients
was treated with coaxial placement of a second covered metallic stent, which
had a positive clinical outcome.
CONCLUSION. Fluoroscopically guided placement of covered
self-expandable metallic stents is technically feasible and effective for the
palliative treatment of inoperable malignant antroduodenal obstructions. The
rate of stent migration in our study was lower than those in previous
reports.
Introduction
Previous reports
[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23]
suggest that the placement of self-expandable metallic stents is a safe and
effective nonsurgical treatment for patients with inoperable gastric and
duodenal obstructions. However, recurrent stenosis of the stent because of
progressive tumor ingrowth has been a problem because most of the stents used
were uncovered. Overall recurrent stenosis rates of 8-46% at an interval of
2-21 weeks have been reported
[1,
2,
4,
8,9,10,11,
14,
22].
Covered stents have been used in the esophagus to prevent tumor ingrowth
[24] and most likely have
contributed to the solution of this problem. Recently, placement of a kind of
covered stent was reported to be technically feasible and effective for the
palliative treatment of inoperable malignant gastroduodenal obstructions
[21,
25]. However, stent migration
and unsatisfactory delivery systems for peroral placement have been
problematic for covered stents in previous investigations
[5,
14,
21,
25].
The purpose of this study is to describe our experience with a series of 18
consecutive patients treated with self-expandable metallic stents for the
palliation of malignant antroduodenal obstructions.
Subjects and Methods
From April 1999 to December 2000, 18 consecutive patients (11 men, seven
women; age range, 23-70 years; mean age, 56 years) with severe nausea and
vomiting caused by antroduodenal obstruction were referred for
fluoroscopically guided placement of covered self-expandable metallic stents.
The causes of obstruction were gastric carcinoma in 15 patients, esophageal
carcinoma in one, gallbladder carcinoma in one, and cholangiocarcinoma in one.
The diagnoses were established by means of endoscopic biopsy (n = 15)
and percutaneous needle aspiration biopsy (n = 3). In all patients,
the tumors were considered inoperable because of extensive tumor growth
(n = 2) and the presence of distant metastases (n = 16).
Informed consent was obtained from each patient.
The site and length of the strictures were assessed before stent insertion
by means of a barium study and CT. The stricture site was gastric antrum to
pylorus in 11 patients, gastric antrum to the second portion of the duodenum
in five patients, gastric body to the pylorus in one patient, and the second
portion of the duodenum in one patient.
Topical anesthesia of the pharynx was achieved routinely before the
procedure using an aerosol spray of lidocaine (Xylocaine, 10% spray [10
mg/dose]; Astra Pharmaceuticals, Södertälje, Sweden) and lidocaine
hydrochloride oral topical solution (Lidocaine Viscous, 2%; Taejoon
Pharmaceuticals, Seoul, Korea). Sedatives were not used in any patient for
aspiration during the procedure. A nasogastric tube was placed before the
procedure to empty the stomach in patients with severe gastric distention.
The covered stents used were commercially available Niti-S stents (TaeWoong
Medical, Seoul, Korea) (Fig. 1)
(n = 20 in 17 patients) and Song stents (Doosung Medi-tech, Seoul,
Korea) (n = 2 in one patient). The stents were 15 or 18 mm in
diameter when fully expanded and 60-170 mm long (mean, 123.1 mm), and both
ends of the stent were flared up to 20 mm. A stent at least 20 mm longer than
the stricture was selected for placement so that its proximal and distal parts
would rest above and below the stricture, respectively. The stent was mounted
on a delivery system composed of a guiding tip, an introducing tube, and a
pushing catheter 6 mm in diameter and 150 cm in length.
With fluoroscopic guidance, we positioned and deployed stents initially
using a peroral route, as described in previous reports
[21,
25,
26], which involved using a
100-cm 5-French Berenstein-type vascular catheter (Bard, Tewskbury, MA); a
260-cm, 0.035-inch in diameter exchange guidewire (Radiofocus M; Terumo,
Tokyo, Japan); and a 260-cm, 0.035-inch Amplatz Super stiff guidewire (Boston
Scientific/Medi-Tech, Natick, MA). In two patients whose peroral placements
failed, stent access to the stomach was achieved with percutaneous gastrostomy
using standard techniques [14,
27]. Balloon catheters
(diameter, 15-20 mm; Ultra-thin diamond balloon dilatation catheter; Boston
Scientific/Medi-Tech) were used in three patients to allow the delivery system
to pass the stricture. In one patient, a balloon catheter was used immediately
after the stent insertion to reposition the stent more precisely and to
facilitate the stent expansion.
All patients underwent a barium study 1 day after stent placement to verify
the position and patency of the stents. Technical success was defined as
precise placement of the stent in the targeted lesion site, as well as its
patency to relieve the obstruction, as shown by the contrast barium study.
Further follow-up in each patient was based on monthly clinical examinations
in the outpatient clinic or in telephone interviews. A follow-up barium study
or endoscopy was performed only in patients with recurrent symptoms.
Results
Stent placement was technically successful and well tolerated in all
patients, and no major procedural complications occurred (Fig.
2A,2B).
Two patients complained about mild abdominal pain immediately after the stent
placement, and their pain was controlled with 50 mg/day IV of pethidine
hydrochloride (Demerol; Keukdong Pharmaceuticals, Seoul, Korea) for 2 days. In
all patients, the negotiation of the guidewire through the obstruction was
successful, and the delivery system passed the stricture segment with
(n = 3) or without (n = 15) the balloon dilatation
procedure.

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Fig. 2A. 47-year-old man with gastric carcinoma involving duodenum.
Anteroposterior radiograph obtained during stent placement shows diffuse
antroduodenal narrowing (arrows). Contrast media was injected through
5-French catheter. Percutaneous biliary drainage catheter is also noted.
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Symptoms improved immediately after the procedure in all patients except
one. This patient had another stenosis at the proximal jejunum that had been
concealed before stent placement. She required IV nutrition until her death.
The other 17 patients were able to take liquids or solid foods after the stent
placement, and 11 of them subsequently were able to eat any type of food.
There was no clinical or radiologic evidence of perforation of hollow viscus
during the procedure or follow-up period.
Stent migration occurred in three patients (16.7%). In two patients, the
stents migrated downward at 1 and 41 days, respectively, after the procedure.
One of the stents came out of the anus uneventfully 13 days after placement,
and a second covered stent was placed at the stricture site. In the other
patient with downward migration, a second covered stent was coaxially inserted
in a telescoped manner overlapping the stent that had previously migrated. In
the third patient (Fig.
3A,3B,3C,3D),
the stent migrated upward into the gastric lumen 14 days after the procedure.
Endoscopic removal of the stent failed, and it remained inside the stomach
until the patient's death without causing symptoms. A second stent was
inserted at the stricture site. Neither further migration nor obstructive
symptoms recurred in these three patients during the remainder of the
follow-up period.

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Fig. 3A. 63-year-old woman with gallbladder carcinoma invading antrum
and duodenum. Anteroposterior upper gastrointestinal radiograph obtained
before stent placement shows total obstruction of gastric outlet with food
materials in distended stomach.
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Fig. 3C. 63-year-old woman with gallbladder carcinoma invading antrum
and duodenum. Right anterior oblique upper gastrointestinal radiograph shows
good barium flow immediately after placement of second covered stent (2 weeks
after initial procedure). Initial covered stent migrated proximally into
gastric lumen (arrow). Endoscopic removal of stent failed and
remained inside patient's stomach until her death without causing
symptoms.
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In two patients, the stents (two Niti-S stents) were collapsed during the
follow-up imaging studies 30 and 64 weeks after stent placement, causing
recurrent symptoms (Fig.
4A,4B,4C).
A second covered stent was coaxially placed in one of these patients, which
resulted in a positive clinical outcome; and the mechanical failure did not
recur. Another patient refused additional management for a collapsed stent,
and she died as a result of sepsis 8 weeks later.

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Fig. 4A. 63-year-old woman with advanced gastric carcinoma involving
antrum and pylorus. Left anterior oblique upper gastrointestinal radiograph
obtained before stent placement shows nearly total obstruction of antrum of
stomach. Although guidewire and catheter could pass beyond stricture, stent
delivery device could not follow peroral route because of markedly distended
J-shaped stomach.
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Fig. 4B. 63-year-old woman with advanced gastric carcinoma involving
antrum and pylorus. Right anterior oblique upper gastrointestinal radiograph
shows good barium passage 1 day after stent placement. Stent was placed
through percutaneous gastrostomy made in gastric body.
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Fig. 4C. 63-year-old woman with advanced gastric carcinoma involving
antrum and pylorus. Anteroposterior upper gastrointestinal radiograph obtained
64 weeks later shows collapsed stent with recurrent obstruction.
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During the follow-up period (range, 2-73 weeks; mean, 12 weeks), 16 of the
18 patients died (range, 2-73 weeks; mean, 12.1 weeks) after stent placement
owing to sepsis or diffuse metastasis of the underlying cancer, and two
patients were alive without obstructive symptoms 14 and 31 weeks after stent
placement.
Discussion
Malignant antroduodenal obstruction is among the many serious conditions
that can lead to nutritional deficiency and dehydration
[22]. Although palliative
bypass surgery is an available option in such patients, the morbidity and
mortality in performing palliative surgery are high, and control of symptoms
is achieved in about only half of the patients treated, especially when
curative resections are not possible
[28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35].
Different types of uncovered metallic stents have been reported to provide
alternative treatment with minimal morbidity in these patients
[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13].
Recent studies reported successful placements of covered self-expandable
metallic stents for malignant gastroduodenal obstructions
[21,
25]. Covered stents obviously
have the theoretic advantage of a lower incidence of tumor ingrowth compared
with uncovered stents.
The requirement of better designed stents and delivery systems for peroral
placement of covered stents has been emphasized because the systems used in
the esophagus are too large and rigid to be used in the gastric outlet or
duodenum [1,
21,
25]. In our series, peroral
placement of standard covered stents was technically successful in most of the
patients (88.9%), and gastrostomy was required in only two patients. In those
patients with a markedly distended stomach or J-shaped stomach, peroral
placement was difficult because stent systems kinked in the stomach even with
extra-stiff guidewire. Using gastrostomy as a route of stent delivery, we
found that the passage of the stenotic segment was easier, and patients
tolerated the procedure even better than the peroral approach. After 2 weeks,
the gastrostomy tube was removed without complications in both patients.
Despite their ability to prevent tumor ingrowth, covered stents have been
reported to migrate more often in the esophagus than uncovered stents
[5,
14,
21,
26]. Moreover, in the
gastroduodenal obstructions, recent studies
[21,
25] have indicated that a high
migration rate (27.8% and 20.8%, respectively) was the major problem in their
results. Although we agree that further investigation is necessary to modify
the covered stent to prevent migration, the lower migration rate (16.7%) in
this study is encouraging compared with those of previous reports
[21,
25].
Interestingly, collapse of the stents was noted in two patients in this
study, which probably resulted from the centripetal growth of the tumor or the
fatigue fracture of the stent wires. This kind of mechanical failure is
different from the previously reported stent disruption of modified Z stents
(Choo stent; Mi Tech, Pyungtaek, Korea) associated with the tearing of the
polyurethane cover [21]. To
our knowledge, this mechanical failure has not been reported, at least with
covered stents placed in the gastrointestinal tract. Because of continuous
peristaltic movement around the stent, together with the corrosive nature of
gastric secretion, there is a chance of mechanical failure in long-term
survivors (> 30 weeks in our study). Improvements in wire material and
stent design are required.
In conclusion, our results indicate that the placement of covered
self-expandable metallic stents is a safe, technically feasible, and effective
treatment palliating inoperable malignant antroduodenal obstructions. The
incidence of migration as a complication of this procedure was lower than
those reported in the literature.
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