Controlled Esophageal Stent System Aids Precise Placement

Tag : ts flanges

By medinews.com staff writers
Posted on A new minimally invasive esophageal stent system helps improve thequality of life of terminal patients with an advanced esophagealcancer, allowing them to eat normally instead of through a tube.

The Evolution controlled release esophageal stent systemincorporates a retractable delivery system that facilitates directmonitoring of the placement progress throughout the procedure,allowing physicians more controlled placement of the stent. Eachsqueeze of the stents trigger-based introducer deploys orrecaptures a proportional length of the stent. The bi-directionalbutton enables seamless switching from deployment to recapture modeand a point-of-no-return mark alerts the physician when recaptureis no longer available; however, even after this point is reached,repositioning is still an option. The Evolution stent is designedwith dual flanges that secure the stent, potentially reducing therisk of migration or stent movement after placement, thuseliminating the need for repeat procedures. The stent alsopossesses both an internal and external silicone coating, designedto resist tumor growth into the stent and enhance the patients'ability to swallow food normally. The Evolution controlled releaseesophageal stent system is a product of Cook Medical (Bloomington,IN, USA), and has been approved by the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA); the system has also received the EuropeanCommunity CE marking.

We are thrilled to introduce Evolution to the market as the firstand only recapturable stent deployment system, said Barry Slowey,vice president of global sales and marketing for Cook Medicalsendoscopy division. Since launching the first esophageal stentmore than 20 years ago, Cook has continued to pioneer newinnovations in this market with the goal of improving patient care.With a unique set of features, like the ability to recapture,reposition, and control the deployment of the stent, Evolutionleapfrogs any other esophageal stent system on the market today.

Esophageal cancer tumors usually lead to dysphagia (difficulty inswallowing), pain, and other symptoms, and are diagnosed viabiopsy. Small and localized tumors are treated surgically; largertumors tend not to be operable and hence cannot be cured; theirgrowth, however, can still be delayed with chemotherapy,radiotherapy, or a combination of the two. In some cases chemo- andradiotherapy can render these larger tumors operable. Prognosisdepends on the extent of the disease and other medical problems,but is fairly poor. Risk factors for esophageal cancer includealcohol consumption, lye indigestion, tobacco, gastroesophagealreflux disease (GERD) and obesity. Typically, an esophageal stentis used in the treatment of esophageal cancer patients whosecondition has advanced beyond surgical treatment options.
Related Links: Cook Medical