Novel Stent System Drains Pancreatic Pseudocysts

Under combined endoscopic and imaging guidance, the stent is delivered through a catheter passed through the patient's mouth and into a stomach area adjacent to the pseudocyst. After an opening is made in the wall of the stomach, the stent is used as a translumenal conduit to bridge the intervening tissues into the pseudocyst, draining it directly into the stomach. Once the pseudocyst has drained and decreased in size, the stent is removed.

The Axios stent is available in multiple lumen diameters (15 mm, 10 mm, 8 mm, and 6 mm) and lengths (10 mm, 6 mm, and 4 mm) to ensure a custom fit. Two large flanges hold the tissue layers together and form a large diameter drainage channel. The stent is fully covered to prevent leakage and to enable removal. The Axios stent and delivery system is a product of Xlumena (Mountain View, CA, USA), and can be used to create anastomotic conduits when blockages and strictures need to be bypassed and large fluid collections to be drained, such as the gallbladder and bile duct. The stent comes preloaded in the delivery system and it is easily deployed by a single operator.

“Pancreatic stents currently on the market are indicated for pancreatic drainage and are to be placed through the pancreas' existing ducts, but this frequently does not provide adequate drainage of a pseudocyst,” said Christy Foreman, of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “The Axios stent provides a new option for physicians to effectively treat pseudocysts with a less invasive intervention than surgical removal of the pseudocyst.”

Pancreatic ducts may become blocked due to gallstones or injury to the pancreas, causing enzymes that normally drain into the small intestine to be released directly into the pancreas, which can cause a pseudocyst to form. While most pseudocysts are small and resolve on their own, some may become infected with bacteria.

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