Stent Placement for the Treatment of Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a syndrome of delayed gastric emptying. First-line treatment includes prokinetic medications. Those refractory to medical treatment are occasionally considered for endoscopic or surgical treatment options, with unpredictable response. The pylorus plays a key role in gastric emptying, with pylorospasm as the underlying mechanism of gastroparesis in some patients. Procedures aiming at disruption of the pylorus have improved gastroparesis symptoms in this subset of patients. These include transpyloric stenting, used for inpatients with refractory symptoms to allow hospital discharge or as a triage to assess symptoms response in patients considered for more definite therapies such as pyloromyotomy.