Background: Airway invasion due to inoperable advanced esophageal cancers can sometimes cause serious complications includingairway stenosis and fistula, and compromise patients' QOL. We retrospectively evaluated the effect of tracheobronchial airway stentingfor airway stenosis due to inoperable advanced esophageal cancers.
Methods: Between 2010 and 2017, 9 patients with airway stenosis due to inoperable advanced esophageal cancers were treated by placement of a tracheo- bronchial airway stent.
Results: Eight patients were treated with self-expandable metallic stents and only 1 patient was treated with a Dumon Y stent. In all cases, tracheo-bronchial airway stents were successfully placed without major complications. Four patients received post-stentingtreatment and 5 patients could be discharged from the hospital. The median survival time after stent placement was 2.8 months.
Conclusions: Tracheo-bronchial airway stentingwas a safe and effective treatment for improvingpatients ' QOL.