Table 4. Properties of commonly used tracheobronchial stents.

Stent properties	Dumon, Hood, Reynders, Dynamic, Polyflex	Ultraflex	Aero
Material	Silicone	Memory Shape Nitinol (woven wire)	Single laser cut nitinol tube
Cost	≤$500	≥$2,000	≥$2,000
Deployment	Rigid with dedicated deployment apparatus	With or without fluoroscopy via semi-rigid catheter	Over the wire or direct visualization
I:E ratio	Low	High	High
Conformation to changes in diameter or angulation	+	+++	++
Covered	N/A	Uncovered or partially covered	Fully covered w/hydroponic inner lumen to aid mucous prevention
Migration	+++	+	++
Granulation	+	+++	++
Radial force	+++	++	++
Ease of Removal	+++	+	++
Erosion Risk	+	++	++

+, poor; ++, good; +++, excellent. I:E, inner to outer ratio and correlates with thickness of stent wall.