Stents in Veterinary Medicine

Abstract

Stenting in veterinary medicine has been a rapidly growing method of interventional surgery for several years. This procedure is usually performed in the respiratory and urinary tracts, but there are cases of stenting of blood vessels or gastrointestinal structures. It is based on maintaining the permeability of a given tubular structure, thus allowing the passage of gas or liquid. This procedure is often performed as a first-line treatment in situations where pharmacological agents do not work and as an alternative method, often cheaper than the classically performed ones. There are also cases where stenting is used as a palliative treatment, e.g., to enable defecation in colonic obstruction due to tumour infiltration of the colon wall. Stenting is often a life-saving or comfort-improving procedure for animals, but one should also be aware of possible postoperative complications and be prepared for any adversity. For this reason, this review provides an insight into the current knowledge in veterinary medicine about stenting and the consequences associated with this procedure.

Renal Agenesis, Extramural Ectopic Ureter, and Nonfunctioning Urinary Bladder: A Difficult Clinical Case with an Innovative Approach

“…Postoperative complications can occur with stents, such as restenosis, stent migration, or tissue encrustation. To reduce complications, work is being done to improve biocompatibility, durability, and flexibility [ 21 ]. Normally, commercial stenting material should be used, but in our case, it was not available, and since an urgent solution was needed, it was decided to use a soft DEHP-free PVC tube as a stent.…”

Antimicrobial and Antiproliferative Coatings for Stents in Veterinary Medicine—State of the Art and Perspectives

“…While human medicine seeks to improve stents based on higher biocompatibility, biodegradability, and fewer post-surgical complications, any changes in veterinary medicine are mainly based on changing the material from which the stent is braided or changing the characteristics of the stent's braid [32] as well as its insertion system [62], but without bioactive or biodegradable properties [27,29,[63][64][65]. The most common material used in the case of a collapsed trachea is nitinol, commercially used for this type of condition, but with a significant number of complications as described above [9]. In addition to nitinol stents based on cross braid, the use of a material called elgiloy has also been described, but with similar effects to the above [31,66].…”

“…Stenting procedures have become a rapidly growing technique used as an ambulatory, often life-saving procedure in veterinary medicine, although on a much smaller scale than human medicine. Stenting procedures in veterinary medicine mostly involve the respiratory system (trachea, bronchi) and urinary system [9]. The most common indication for stent implantation in dogs and cats is tracheal collapse, as it is a common and vexing clinical problem mainly affecting a large number of small and miniature breed dogs [10,11].…”

“…With the more frequent use of stents, an alarming increase in the number of short-, medium-, and long-term postoperative complications has been noted. Typically, respiratory tract stenting leads to restenosis, which is the re-narrowing of the lumen of a given structure in front of, behind, or in the area of the stent [9]. Urinary tract stenting is also associated with postoperative complications, but these are most often related to nosocomial infections and biofilm formation in the lumen of the stent [12].…”