Esophageal stricture after endoscopic submucosal dissection treated successfully by temporary stent placement.

The growing use of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has enabled the highly curative treatment of early esophageal cancer. The circumferential extent of the tumor is reportedly related to the frequency of post-treatment stricture, with postoperative esophageal stricture reported to occur frequently when the post-resection mucosal defect exceeds 75 % of the esophageal luminal circumference. In some clinical cases, locally injected or orally administered steroids aimed at preventing post-treatment stricture fail to prevent re-stricture. Only two prior reports have investigated temporary stent placement for stricture after ESD for early esophageal cancer, and consensus is lacking on the appropriate duration and timing of stent placement. Here, we report our experience with a case of stricture after ESD for early esophageal cancer, in which temporary stent placement was effective for releasing the stricture for at least 6 months.