Examination of expandable metallic stent removed at autopsy.

Objective: We evaluated the damage to expandable metallic stents (EMS) based upon analysis of EMS removed at autopsy.

Methodology: Seventeen EMS were obtained during autopsy from the main bronchi of nine patients with lung cancer. Each EMS was categorized into one of the following three groups, according to the degree of EMS damage: no damage at all (ND), damage to part of the EMS (PD), and marked damage (MD) that caused loss of function of the airway stent.