Esophageal stents are important tools for palliative treatment of inoperable esophageal malignancies. With the development of multiple self-expandable stents, there are now several therapeutic options for managing benign and malignant esophageal diseases. This paper discusses the various types of esophageal stents currently available, indications for their placement, challenges and complications that gastroenterologists face when placing these stents, and some of the innovations that will become available in the near future.
Keywords: Esophageal stents; benign esophageal strictures; esophageal cancer; malignant esophageal strictures.