STENTS IN UROLOGY TYPES, USES, COMPLICATIONS AND EFFECT ON PATIENT

Abstract

S tenting is the use of a hollow device to create a pathway, support a structure, or lumen of hollow organs that are partially or completely obstructed due to benign or malignant obstructive diseases. The use of stents to maintain luminal patency is a well established concept used in a variety of surgical settings including cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and urological lesions. In urology, stents used are ureteral, prostatic and uretheral stents. An ideal ureteral stent has not been developed and there has been great interest in this field of stent research as marked by introduction of new biomaterials, coatings and ureteral stent designs. Stents biomaterials currently placed in the urinary tract are most commonly composed of synthetic polymeric compounds including: Polyurethane, Silicon, Silitek, C-flex, Percuflex andTecoflex. There are many novel stent designs that have been introduced over the past few years including: Spiral stents, Tail stents and Magnetic stents. In malignant ureteral obstruction, metallic stents such as the Wall-stent have been used with limited success. New metallic Memokath ureteral stent were introduced for managing long term ureteral obstruction.This device was designed to relieve ureteral obstruction without the unwanted side effects of a conventional Double-J stent since it occupies only the obstructed ureteral segment. Prostatic stents could be an option for patients with contraindications to surgery or anesthesia, which can serve as a temporary or permanent solution for bladder outlet obstruction caused by BPH. Prostatic stents can be categorized into permanent and temporary stents. Permanent stents promote epithelialization, causing them to become embedded in the urethra,where as temporary stents do not have tissue ingrowth or may be biodegradable. Temporary prostatic stents have been used to provide short-term relief from BPO after interstitial laser coagulation (ILC), visual laser ablation (VLAP) and high-energy transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMD).