Safety and Efficacy of the Tracheobronchial Bonastent: A Single-Center Case Series

Background: Tracheobronchial stents are widely used devices in interventional pulmonology; however, the current literature on the effectiveness and complication rates of the different types of stents is limited. Objective: We report the largest case series of airway Bonastent placement and describe the efficacy and early (<30 days) and late (≥30 days) complication rates. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of our prospectively collected database of patients who underwent therapeutic bronchoscopy with stent placement. All adult patients who had a tracheal/bronchial Bona-stent placed between July 1, 2017, and July 30, 2019, for any indication at our institution were included. The efficacy as well as intraoperative and short- and long-term complications of Bonastent placement were evaluated. Results: Sixty Bonastents were placed in 50 patients. The etiology was malignant in 90% of the cases, while 2 patients had a tracheoesophageal fistula. All procedures were performed via rigid bronchoscopy. The most common location for stent placement was the bronchus intermedius, followed by the trachea, in 32 and 30% of the cases, respectively. Seventy percent of the patients (35/50) had improvement of respiratory symptoms within 30 days. Twenty-eight stents (48%) were removed at a mean of 74 days. Seventeen patients (34%) died within 30 days of stent placement. The overall complication rate was 54% (27/50 patients) at a mean follow-up of 111 days. The stent-related complication rate was 23.3% (14/60 cases) within <30 days and 53% (18/34 cases) at ≥30 days. Conclusions: The tracheobronchial Bonastent is effective for the treatment of patients with central airway obstruction and tracheoesophageal fistulae with an acceptable safety profile.