Published online Jul 25, 2015. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v7.i9.843
Peer-review started: April 30, 2015
First decision: May 13, 2015
Revised: June 8, 2015
Accepted: June 18, 2015
Article in press: June 19, 2015
Published online: July 25, 2015
Processing time: 103 Days and 18.3 Hours
Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical procedure that is being increasingly performed on obese patients. Among its complications, leaks are the most serious and life threatening. The placement of esophageal, covered, self-expandable metal stents in these cases has been performed by many authors but reports on the outcome of this procedure are limited and the technical aspects are not well defined. Stent migration is the main complication of the procedure and poses a challenge to the surgeon, with a limited number of options. Here we evaluate the technical and clinical outcome of a new, dedicated, self-expanding metal stent, comparing the advantages of this stent to those traditionally used to treat staple-line leak after sleeve gastrectomy. While published data are limited, they seem support the use of this kind of new stent as the best option for the stenting treatment of a staple-line leak after sleeve gastrectomy, over other kinds of stents. Further studies based on larger series are needed to better evaluate patient outcome.
Core tip: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a surgical procedure increasingly performed on obese patients with convincing outcomes. Among its complications, leaks are the most serious. The use of esophageal self-expandable metal stents in these cases has been performed by many authors but reports are limited and stent migration is the main complication of the procedure. Megastent®, a new stent dedicated to the treatment of leaks after LSG, seems to resolve most of the problems of the esophageal stents. While published data are limited, they seem support the use of Megastent® as the best option for the stenting treatment of a staple-line leak after sleeve gastrectomy. Further studies on larger series are needed to better evaluate definitive outcomes.