Use of guiding sheaths in peroral fluoroscopic gastroduodenal stent placement

Our purpose was to assess the safety and usefulness of guiding sheaths in peroral fluoroscopic gastroduodenal stent placement. Two types of guiding sheath were made from straight polytetrafluoroethylene tubes. Type A was 80 cm in length, 4 mm in outer diameter and 3 mm in inner diameter. Type B was 70 cm in length, 6 mm in outer diameter and 5 mm in inner diameter. The type A sheath was used in 18 patients in whom a catheter-guide wire combination failed to pass through a stricture. The type B sheath was used in 22 patients in whom a stent delivery system failed to pass through the stricture due to loop formation within the gastric lumen. The overall success rate for guiding a catheter-guide wire through a stricture after using the type A sheath was 89%. The overall success rate for passing a stent delivery system through a stricture after using the type B sheath was 100%. All procedures were tolerated by the patients without any significant complications. The guiding sheaths were safe and useful in peroral fluoroscopic gastroduodenal stent placement.