Pancreatic cyst metal drainage stent

Pancreatic pseudocyst is one of the complications of pancreatitis, and its recurrent symptoms have a significant impact on the quality of life of patients. At present, the treatment methods for pancreatic pseudocysts include surgical treatment, percutaneous puncture drainage, and endoscopic natural cavity drainage. In recent years, endoscopic natural lumen drainage has gradually become a standard treatment method, mainly guided by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) to establish an effective drainage channel between the cyst and the stomach or duodenum, in order to achieve internal drainage of the cyst. In clinical practice, various forms of stents are usually placed between channels to ensure their good open state.

There are various types of stents in clinical practice, and the commonly used double pigtail stent has a low risk of stent displacement. However, due to its small inner diameter, stent blockage often occurs. The fully covered self expanding metal stent has the advantages of larger inner diameter, lower risk of blockage, and better drainage effect for cysts. In recent years, South Korea has produced a new type of double mushroom head stent (Figure 1), which has a large diameter and length, and is equipped with a dedicated delivery catheter. Previous studies have found that this new stent has considerable clinical efficacy.

Traditionally, most patients with pancreatic pseudocysts require surgical treatment to achieve cyst drainage and elimination. With the development of endoscopic technology, endoscopic treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts has gradually become the mainstream treatment method, with considerable efficacy and safety, but there are also certain technical difficulties.

The core step of endoscopic treatment for pseudocysts is to establish a channel between the gastrointestinal lumen and the cyst, and place a suitable sized stent to achieve internal drainage of the cyst. The diameter and length of the stent both affect the drainage effect. Currently, the commonly used double pigtail plastic stent has a smaller diameter and is prone to blockage; The metal coated stent has a short length and is prone to displacement, which affects the therapeutic effect; In recent years, the newly launched double mushroom head metal stent has a larger inner diameter and can be adjusted to the appropriate size according to the length of the digestive tract wall and cyst channel.