The Stone Centre at Vancouver General Hospital, Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Jack Bell Research Centre, 2660 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3Z6, Canada.
Nat Rev Urol. 2015 Jan;12(1):17-25. doi: 10.1038/nrurol.2014.340. Epub 2014 Dec 23.
Ureteral stents are one of the most commonly used devices in the treatment of benign and malignant urological diseases. However, they are associated with common complications including encrustation, infection, pain and discomfort caused by ureteral tissue irritation and possibly irregular peristalsis. In addition, stent migration and failure due to external compression by malignancies or restenosis occur, albeit less frequently. As these complications restrict optimal stent function, including maintenance of adequate urine drainage and alleviation of hydronephrosis, novel stent materials and designs are required. In recent years, progress has been made in the development of drug-eluting expandable metal stents and biodegradable stents. New engineering technologies are being investigated to provide stents with increased biocompatibility, decreased susceptibility to encrustation and improved drug-elution characteristics. These novel stent characteristics might help eliminate some of the common complications associated with ureteral stenting and will be an important step towards understanding the behaviour of stents within the urinary tract.
输尿管支架是治疗良性和恶性泌尿科疾病最常用的器械之一。然而，它们常伴有一些并发症，包括结石形成、感染、输尿管组织刺激引起的疼痛和不适，以及可能出现的蠕动不规则。此外，由于恶性肿瘤的外部压迫或再狭窄，支架迁移和失效也时有发生，尽管不太常见。由于这些并发症限制了支架的最佳功能，包括维持足够的尿液引流和缓解肾积水，因此需要新型的支架材料和设计。近年来，在药物洗脱可扩张金属支架和生物可降解支架的开发方面取得了进展。新的工程技术正在被研究，以提供具有更高生物相容性、降低结石形成倾向和改善药物洗脱特性的支架。这些新型支架特性可能有助于消除与输尿管支架相关的一些常见并发症，是深入了解支架在泌尿道中行为的重要一步。
