Role of stents and laser therapy in biliary strictures

The most frequent primary cancers causing malignant obstructive jaundice were pancreatic cancer (57%), hilar biliary cancer (19% including metastatic disease), nonhilar biliary cancer (14%) and papillary cancer (10%). Endoscopic stenting has widely replaced palliative surgery for malignant biliary obstruction because of its lower risk and cost. Self-expandable metal stents are the preferred mode of palliation for hilar malignancies. Plastic stents have a major role in benign biliary strictures. Major complications and disadvantages associated with metallic stents include high cost, cholangitis, malposition, migration, unextractability, and breakage of the stents, pancreatitis and stent dysfunction. Dysfunction due to tumor ingrowth can be relieved by thermal methods (argon plasma coagulator therapy). We present a concise review of the efficacy of metallic stents for palliation of malignant strictures.