[Treatment of malignant gastric or duodenal stenoses by the insertion of metallic prostheses under fluoroscopic control]

To evaluate the efficacy of metallic stents for palliation of malignant gastro-duodenal stenosis.Twenty-three patients aged from 36 to 88 years old presented with nausea, vomiting and weight loss due to duodenal (n = 16) or antro-pyloric (n = 7) malignant stenosis and underwent placement of 37 Wallstents (1 to 3 per patient) under fluoroscopic guidance.After initial stent placement 17 patients had normal food intake. One patient was able to eat fractionated meals. Five patients did not experience any improvement due to the presence of a jejunal stenosis downstream in 2, or insufficient stenosis coverage in 2 and stent migration in 1. Nine of the 18 patients with improvement died without symptoms within 101 +/- 56 days after stent placement and 6 were alive and symptom-free after a mean follow up of 176 +/- 83 days. Three asymptomatic patients were lost to follow up after 3 days, 1 and 2 months, respectively.Metallic stents appear to be a valuable option for the treatment of malignant gastro-duodenal stenoses.