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Polyflex stent: is it radiopaque enough?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

M. Jog
Affiliation:
Departments of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust, Glasgow, UK.
D. E. Anderson
Affiliation:
Departments of Radiology, Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust, Glasgow, UK.
G. W. McGarry
Affiliation:
Departments of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust, Glasgow, UK.

Abstract

We report a case of tracheal stenosis in which a migrated Polyflex (Rusch AG, Germany) stent entered the right main bronchus but could not be identified on the chest radiograph. The stent was identified at bronchoscopy and removed under general anaesthesia.

Polyflex stents are radiopaque but may not always show up on radiograph. We recommend reliance on clinical symptoms rather than imaging to diagnose migration. If stent migration is suspected then imaging should include thoracic inlet films that incorporate a lateral view.

Type
Other
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2003

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