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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Apr 16, 2023; 15(4): 195-215
Published online Apr 16, 2023. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v15.i4.195
Endoscopic luminal stenting: Current applications and future perspectives
Miltiadis Moutzoukis, Konstantinos Argyriou, Andreas Kapsoritakis, Dimitrios Christodoulou
Miltiadis Moutzoukis, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina GR45333, Greece
Konstantinos Argyriou, Andreas Kapsoritakis, Department of Gastroenterology, Medical School and University Hospital of Larissa, Larissa GR41334, Greece
Dimitrios Christodoulou, Department of Gastroenterology, Medical School and University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina GR45500, Greece
Author contributions: Moutzoukis M wrote and edited the manuscript; Argyriou K conceived the study, and edited and finalized the manuscript for submission; Argyriou K, Kapsoritakis A, and Christodoulou D reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Konstantinos Argyriou, MD, MSc, PhD, Academic Researcher, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Department of Gastroenterology, Medical School and University Hospital of Larissa, Mezourlo, Larissa GR41334, Greece. kosnar2@yahoo.gr
Received: October 7, 2022
Peer-review started: October 7, 2022
First decision: December 19, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2023
Accepted: April 4, 2023
Article in press: April 4, 2023
Published online: April 16, 2023
Processing time: 189 Days and 9.1 Hours
Abstract

Endoscopic luminal stenting (ELS) represents a minimally invasive option for the management of malignant obstruction along the gastrointestinal tract. Previous studies have shown that ELS can provide rapid relief of symptoms related to esophageal, gastric, small intestinal, colorectal, biliary, and pancreatic neoplastic strictures without compromising cancer patients’ overall safety. As a result, in both palliative and neoadjuvant settings, ELS has largely surpassed radiotherapy and surgery as a first-line treatment modality. Following the abovementioned success, the indications for ELS have gradually expanded. To date, ELS is widely used in clinical practice by well-trained endoscopists in managing a wide variety of diseases and complications, such as relieving non-neoplastic obstructions, sealing iatrogenic and non-iatrogenic perforations, closing fistulae and treating post-sphincterotomy bleeding. The abovementioned development would not have been achieved without corresponding advances and innovations in stent technology. However, the technological landscape changes rapidly, making clinicians’ adaptation to new technologies a real challenge. In our mini-review article, by systematically reviewing the relevant literature, we discuss current developments in ELS with regard to stent design, accessories, techniques, and applications, expanding the research basis that was set by previous studies and highlighting areas that need to be further investigated.

Keywords: Endoscopic luminal stenting; Obstruction; Stricture; Stenting; Leak; Cancer; Inflammatory bowel disease; Bariatric surgery

Core Tip: Endoscopic luminal stenting (ELS) represents a well-established minimally invasive option for the management of malignant obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract. Following this successful application, recent advances in stent technology have gradually expanded the use of luminal stents in the management of various other disorders and complications. In this rapidly evolving field, clinicians are urgently required to learn new skills in order to advance their current practice. In an effort to facilitate this process, this article summarizes the current knowledge on ELS and highlights areas that need to be investigated in future studies.