Stent Placement for Lung Cancer

Overview
Stent placement is a procedure in which a stent — a flexible mesh tube — is placed in an airway to keep it from becoming blocked. If a lung cancer grows into an airway and affects breathing, a stent can help keep the airway open. Stent placement is usually performed after photodynamic therapy or laser therapy.

What does it involve?
Stent placement is usually performed under a local anesthetic combined with a sedative. After these drugs are administered, your doctor will use a thin, flexible tube called a bronchoscope to place the stent in the airway. The stent’s mesh structure will help hold the airway open. It usually takes about an hour to recover from the sedative. Afterward, you will be able to leave the hospital, though you shouldn’t drive yourself.

Side effects
Risks from stent placement include pneumothorax (collapsed lung), chest infection, a need for extra oxygen, and stent dislodgement.

For more details about this treatment, visit:

Tracheobronchial Airway Stent Placement — UC San Diego Health
https://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/pulmonary/p...

Tracheal or Bronchial Stent Placement — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-educa...