Technologies that prolong patency
Acute care hospitals can be a risky environment for sick and older patients, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
While their medical conditions might be resolved in the hospital setting, patients run a high risk of debilitating complications during their stay, particularly hospital-acquired infections.
Patients with biliary malignancies can develop obstructive symptoms related to the tumor. In the past, these patients, along with those who needs management for benign conditions like strictures, would receive rigid plastic stents for palliation. However, plastic stents carry the risk of frequent complications, leading to morbidity and mortality.
Technologies that help to reduce repeat procedures through prolonged patency may help in the efforts of shortening waiting lists.Increased patency duration with metal stents
Self-expandable metal stents (SEMS), on the other hand, are flexible and spring open to a larger diameter than plastic stents,1 increasing patency duration many months and reducing biofilm formation.2
In endoscopic stent comparisons, biliary metal stents appear to have a lower risk of recurrent biliary obstruction than plastic stents, while covered metal stents offer superior patency compared with uncovered stents.3,4
WallFlex™ Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent System RMV
The unique stent design of WallFlex™ Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent System RMV, with an integrated retrieval loop and Permalume™ covering, allows for removal up to 12 months post-deployment, unlike most plastic stents that may require replacement an average of 5 times per year.5 This indication for use* of the fully covered stents in the treatment of benign biliary strictures secondary to chronic pancreatitis may eliminate the need for repeat procedures and may reduce the number of ERCPs per patient than treatment using multiple plastic stents.
"The WallFlex [Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent System RMV] has both patient value and economic value. It’s effective in resolving benign strictures from chronic pancreatitis. In addition, it saves the patient from undergoing multiple endoscopic procedures."
Ali Siddiqui, M.D.
Philadelphia, PA
Minimally invasive stricture management using Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
While metal stents offer better patency compared with plastic stents, their effectiveness can be further improved through endoscopic biliary radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with the Habib™ EndoHPB catheter before placing the stent.6,7 Ablation with the Habib EndoHPB has been shown to prolong metallic biliary stent patency by 13%.
Data has also shown that RFA with the Habib EndoHPB for occluded metal stents can significantly improve mean stent patency time compared with plastic stent insertion.8
Habib™ EndoHPB Bipolar Radiofrequency Catheter
Mean plastic stent patency was also longer for RFA and stent at 6.8 months compared to stenting alone at 3.4 months when using Habib EndoHBP.7
As the first Radio Frequency ablation catheter indicated in Europe for malignant or benign tissue ablation in the pancreatic and biliary tract, the Habib EndoHPB enables the treatment of sick patients with difficult-to-treat cancers for whom surgery is not an option, keeping them out of the hospital.
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