In situ cooling with ice water for the easier removal of self-expanding nitinol stents.

Background: It is yet to be determined what effects temperature has on the properties of nitinol in order to simplify the process of removing nitinol self-expanding metal stents (SEMS).

Materials And Methods: We describe the procedure for removal of SEMS in a total of 11 cases with 9 patients. A study involving cooling of nitinol stents in situ with ice water just before their removal was attempted.