A healthy dog and two dogs with tracheal collapse (TC) were treated using a Gianturco-Wallace type expandable metallic stent (EMS). The EMS was placed through the upper trachea in the healthy dog and at the stenotic site in the two dogs with TC under roentgenoscopy. The general condition of the healthy dog was normal after EMS placement. When the healthy dog was euthanatized after 53 days, the EMS was buried submucously. For the dogs with TC, radiographic examination after treatment revealed sufficient expansion of airway at the stenotic site in both cases, After placement of the EMS, the frequency of coughing gradually decreased and dyspnea with cyanosis disappeared completely. After about a year, however, constriction of the esophagus and recurrence of TC at the caudal site of EMS placement were observed, with death occurring suddenly in both cases. Therapy using an EMS for TC will be simple and extremely effective if materials and expansive force of the EMS can be improved.
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