Bowel obstruction is a common clinical manifestation in colorectal cancer, occurring in up to 29% of cases, and the prognosis for these patients is significantly worse at the same stage. Self-expanding metal colonic stents represent a therapeutic alternative to surgery for the urgent relief of acute colonic obstruction prior to curative surgery or for palliative treatment in inoperable patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of self-expanding metal colonic stents and to define their role in the management of tumor-related colonic obstruction.

This is a retrospective study conducted in our department over a 4-year period between September 2021 and September 2025. Twenty-five patients with tumor-related colonic obstruction who were treated with colonic stents were included.

The mean age of our patients was 53 years, with a sex ratio of 2.57. Most patients presented clinically with a bowel obstruction syndrome, including cessation of stool and gas passage. Abdominal X-rays showed air-fluid levels in all patients, and CT scans revealed a stenosing colonic tumor with upstream bowel dilation in 19 patients.

The indication for colonic stent placement was palliative in 20 cases and preoperative in 5 cases. All patients underwent stent placement via colonoscopy under general anesthesia.

Subsequent treatments following stent placement included chemotherapy in 11 cases, curative surgical resection in 5 cases, and a stoma in 2 cases, while the remaining 7 patients received no further treatment.

The technical success rate, defined by proper placement and deployment of the colonic stent, was 95%. Clinical success, defined as relief of colonic obstruction within 48 hours without the need for re-intervention, was achieved in 90% of cases.

Immediate outcomes were favorable in all patients. No immediate complications were reported, and the mean hospital stay was three days. Stent migration occurred in one patient after 8 months.

Colonic stents represent an effective alternative to surgical treatment for symptomatic tumor-related colonic strictures, either to allow preparation for elective curative surgery or for palliative purposes before initiating potential chemotherapy.