Recent Advances in Gastrointestinal Stent Development

Endoscopic stenting is increasingly being used in the management of gastrointestinal luminal obstruction, and has become the current treatment of choice for the palliation of blockage caused by malignant or benign growths. A variety of stents have been developed to enhance the efficacy of the procedure, and improvements are ongoing. In this article, we review the history of, and recent advances in, gastrointestinal stenting. We describe the rationale behind the design as well as the resulting outcome for each stent type.